Shooting Star Sonia 3: Red Joker
by ExoZadakh
Summary: Earth has advanced rapidly in the year following the failed revival of Mu, but that development has come at a price: ever-rising levels of Noise, which are now being utilized by the nefarious organization known as Dealer. Harp Note has been asked to help WAZA thwart these criminals and control the danger posed by Noise, but it soon becomes apparent that far more is at stake.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Luna scowled up at the sky as gray clouds rolled over Vista Point. Tapping a finger against the umbrella hanging on the railing, she thought, _It had better hold out a little longer…_

She set the matter aside for the moment and looked back at the device in her hands. The terminal, dubbed the Hunter-VG, was the newly-released replacement of the Star Carrier, and was being advertised as so upgrade-friendly that there would never need to be another new terminal again. If she was being honest, Luna didn't think it looked particularly revolutionary: it was little more than a thick disk with a narrow tray sticking out of one side, though the holographic interface it projected had worked very smoothly thus far. As she examined it, her eyes sought out the clock on their own.

"What's keeping her?" she huffed.

In a flash of bluish-white, Ophiuca appeared on the other side of the railing. "She did say that she was unsure how long the meeting would take exactly. Though, by now, I'm sure she's on her way if nothing else."

Luna tensed a little in surprise. "Huh…I'm still getting used to being able to see you."

Looking down at herself, Ophiuca said, "Yes, this Real Wave body will definitely require some adjustment, but it is exquisitely-made. What gives me more pause is this new classification of EM beings…I'm not truly sure I like the sound of 'Wizard'."

"Well they had to pick something easy to remember. You're going to have to get used to it."

Ophiuca dramatically raised her arm over her face. "My, how dreadful…but, if I must." She vanished, only to reappear on the Hunter's screen. "You know, I have a hunch that Sonia wouldn't mind terribly if we were to move the rendezvous point."

Luna puffed out her cheeks. "Really, where is she? She knows I don't appreciate being kept waiting!"

A flash from behind the deck caught her attention. A familiar voice followed with, "Sorry, sorry, I know I'm late."

"I'll say!" Luna replied. She deactivated the Hunter's screen and pocketed the device, and then walked over to the corner of the deck. "I hope you have a good explanation for…"

She stopped as Sonia stepped into view and began to climb the stairs. She was still Wave Changed, but the form looked slightly different: her golden bracelets were thinner than they used to be, and on each greave were two vertical white stripes like the ones on her dress. Her sleeves were totally different, with white patches on her shoulders that each spawned a single vertical line down the front of her arm and another down the back, dividing the pink on the outer side from the black that colored the inner sleeve and the area around her collarbone. There was also something coming off of the bottom edge of her helmet—a headset mic, by the look of it.

Sonia reached the top stair and paused for a moment. Averting her gaze just a little, she asked, "Um…does it look good?"

Realizing she was staring, Luna blushed and said, "O-Oh, yeah. You look great. But, what…"

Hearing Luna's answer, Sonia brightened up. "This is what Mr. Boreal wanted to see us about."

"I thought he was just adding Hunter functions to your guitar?"

"He did, but apparently the Hunter-VG has a function for streamlining Wave Changes to enhance them. They wanted to see how it turned out, which is why he wanted Bud and Geo to come too."

Lyra materialized beside her, adding, "I must say, I feel more energized than I've felt in a long time! The humans have really outdone themselves."

"So that's why you look different," Luna said. "Wait, where is your guitar?"

"Oh, right!" Sonia said, raising her left hand. Luna realized that the bracelet on that wrist was pale blue with a heart decoration on it. A second later, it returned to the familiar gold, and Sonia's guitar appeared in her hands. The instrument had also gotten a minor change, with the face and microphone at the head being replaced by a large heart with pink light shining in its center, a light which flowed in a single line down the length of the neck before splitting and encircling the main body. There were also a few knobs added at the point where the body was at its widest. Striking a pose, she said, "So, what do you think?"

Luna placed her hands over her heart and smiled wide. "Amazing!"

Sonia blushed, scratching her head. "Heheh…well, I guess that's enough showing off for now…"

As Sonia undid her Wave Change, Ophiuca asked, "Then this affects every Wave Change? We should expect something different as well?"

"Oh, let's try it out!" Luna said, reaching for her Hunter. "The Wavehole's over there, right?"

"Actually, we don't need Waveholes anymore! You can Wave Change wherever you want."

With a nod, Luna initiated the transformation, and Sonia stepped forward to take a look at her. The new Queen Ophiuca wore a triangular black breastplate over her torso, and her shoulder armor was much smaller, now looking like the heads of two purple snakes clamping down on her arms.

"Wow, you look great!" Pointing, Sonia added, "Your…'hair' is different."

Luna touched her helmet. "Really?"

"Yeah, it doesn't come out as much, and it's more flat. Actually, it sort of makes you look like a cobra. It's neat!"

Satisfied, Luna returned to normal, and then took a look at her Hunter. The screen came up and displayed some sort of notification, a window that looked like a gray card with the Satella Police emblem on it. "What's this…Transcode 007: Queen Ophiuca?"

"Ah, I forgot!" Sonia said. "NAZA is…er, no, _WAZA_ , is going to be keeping a registry of everyone who can Wave Change. Mr. Boreal said it's part collecting data and part public safety. I'm 004, Geo's 003, Bud's 005…" After a moment, she muttered, "Wait, who's 006, then?"

Turning to her, Luna asked, "You don't know?"

Sonia shrugged. "I'll have to ask next time I see Mr. Boreal, I guess."

"Wait, what about 001 and 002?"

She thought she saw a slight shift in Sonia's expression, but she didn't quite know what to call it. "001 is registered to a new Satella Officer testing a Battle Wizard made with Wave Change capabilities. I've met him a few times—I keep meaning to introduce you, we just haven't gotten the chance yet. 002…they said I'd meet him soon, and kind of pushed me on to the next topic. I'm not sure what that was about."

Luna waited a moment before saying, "A Battle Wizard made to Wave Change, huh? I didn't know WAZA had that technology."

"He's still experimental," Sonia said. "They decided to base him on data they collected from Mega, since his lock-on works so well with Battle Cards and the Satella Police are already so used to using those. The two of them look like brothers, almost."

"You can imagine how thrilled he was to learn that," Lyra said.

"Oh, I'm sure," Ophiuca laughed. "Now I want to meet him all the more!"

Luna was about to say something when she felt a drop fall on her. Holding out her hand, she began to feel more, and realized the rain had finally started. "Oh shoot…"

She went back for her umbrella and quickly opened it, and then turned back around to see Sonia frantically pulling her hood up while hunching over her guitar.

"…You don't have an umbrella, do you?"

Flashing an embarrassed grin, Sonia said, "You know I can never remember."

Luna sighed. As she walked over, she said, "If you'd gotten here sooner, we could've been gone before this started."

Sonia stepped underneath Luna's umbrella, defending herself with, "Hey, we had a lot to cover! I did say the timing was more of an estimate."

"You still should've tried harder to make the time you decided on!"

"Yeah…"

They walked side by side, staying close as they could so neither would get wet, and slowly made their way back into Echo Ridge. At one particularly long wait for a crossing signal, Luna glanced tentatively at Sonia—she was leaned up against her with a look of pure contentment.

"…It's been a while since we shared an umbrella, hasn't it?" Luna mumbled as she tried not to blush.

Sonia giggled softly. "A little while, yeah."

Luna could feel her heart pounding. _C-Calm down! There's no reason to make a big deal out of this. It's only natural we'd share an umbrella, since we're…w-we're…_

"Hey," Sonia said, "would you…be mad at me if I said I took a little longer getting back because…I was hoping we could do this?"

The blush became too strong for Luna to hold off. "I…well, I _guess_ that's okay…"

"Hmhm…"

"Wait a minute, is that why you never remember your own umbrella in the first place?"

"No, that's just honest forgetfulness." She paused, and then: "Darn, I should've thought of that."

"Geez!"

The light finally changed, so they continued on.

"So, have you started preparing for the election yet?" Sonia asked. "Well, I guess I should ask if you've started on your victory speech yet, huh?"

When she didn't get a quick response, Sonia lifted her head off Luna's shoulder and looked at her. Luna stared ahead with a solemn expression, and soon mumbled, "I'm…actually wondering if I should…"

"Huh?!"

"It's just…I've been Class President every year, and each time fewer and fewer people run against me."

Not sure what she was getting at, Sonia grasped for something to say. "People probably just figure you're going to win again, so…"

"Exactly. I'm pretty much unstoppable at this point."

"…Um, is that bad…?"

Luna's footsteps slowed, so Sonia slowed down to match her.

"Shouldn't I let someone else have a chance?" Luna asked, turning slightly. "If I just keep taking charge, then no one else has much opportunity to do what they can to help the student body. I'm…" She paused to wring her hands around the umbrella handle. "I guess I'm worried I'm pushing everyone else out of the way to do what _I_ want."

"Oh," Sonia said. She thought a moment, and then smiled and wrapped her arms around Luna. "Come on, don't overthink it so much."

Luna stumbled a bit. "Wha…?"

"Quick: why do you like being president?"

"Well, I get to help improve conditions for the students and get their voices heard, so—"

"There you go."

"What?"

"What do you mean 'what'? You want to be president because you want to help your classmates out. So, it's not that you're being pushy, you just want what's best for the students and think you can provide that. Right?"

Luna looked up as she considered this. "…Well, yes. But I don't necessarily need to be in charge to do those sorts of things."

"I think the reason everyone keeps voting for you is because they think you're very good at being in charge. No one knows how to motivate and organize people like you do, and you'll never back down from something once you've made up your mind. They love having someone like that fighting for them." She returned her head to Luna's shoulder as she finished, "I know _I_ love having you on my side."

For a while, Luna watched the raindrops fall without saying anything. Then, she smiled, and she said, "Hmph. Well, if I'm worried I'm blocking good ideas, then I should be looking for better ways to take in the class's opinion rather than just stepping aside. I'll have to pay attention to what pieces of my opponents' platforms get the most support—after the election I can approach them to negotiate implementing their plans." She glanced at Sonia. "…Thanks."

"Don't mention it!"

They both looked up as they approached the building Luna lived in. Sonia started to reach for her guitar screen, saying, "Guess I should get going. I'd love to call you later—what time would be good?"

Luna stared at the building for a few seconds. "U-Um…you know, we really didn't get to spend much time together…"

"Yeah, I know, I was late."

"What I mean is…for you to go so soon…"

Sonia tilted her head.

"…Well…why don't you come inside for a while? I-I mean, if you want to…"

It took Sonia a minute to absorb this. When she did, her eyes went wide in surprise, and she blushed slightly. "Oh…really? Yeah, I'd love to! It's no problem?"

"Of course not!" They both stood there nervously for a moment before Luna cleared her throat. "Come on, then. I'll make us some tea."

The apartment Luna lived in was near the top floor of the building, and each room was stocked with expensive furniture and lavish decorations. Luna immediately went to the kitchen to prepare the tea, Ophiuca following to assist her, meanwhile Sonia and Lyra wandered down the hall marveling at the place.

"Woah…"

Luna craned her neck, barely hearing the distant remark. "What is it?"

"All these trophies…"

"Oh," Luna muttered, remembering the case at the end of the hall. "Y-You don't have to pay attention to those, they're just—"

Sonia poked her head around the corner, a bewildered look in her eyes. Luna stopped what she was doing and waited.

"…You play the piano?" Sonia finally asked.

"That's what…" Luna sighed and returned to making tea. "I've told you that before, haven't I?"

"Hm, have you?" Ophiuca mumbled as she set a cup down next to Luna. She playfully ignored the glance Luna gave her.

"You _definitely_ haven't!" Sonia said, walking into the room. "How has that not come up in all this time?!"

Luna grunted as she grabbed the cup. "Well, come on, what sort of person brags about putting on piano recitals when talking to an actual award-winning idol? It's nothing."

Sonia leaned to one side in disbelief, and then turned around. "Lyra, how many of those trophies are for piano competitions? "

Lyra could be heard muttering, "Let's see, everything on this shelf, that one too…quite a lot of them, actually."

Leaning back towards Luna, Sonia said, "It hardly sounds like _nothing_! Let's play something together!"

Luna nearly lost her grip. "Huh?!"

"Come on, it's perfect! Getting to play music with you, it'd just…" She trailed off. Latching onto Luna's arm, she bat her eyes and quietly asked, "Please?"

Luna thought about it for a moment, but then closed her eyes and pushed a cup towards Sonia. "For now, let's just drink tea. I need to warm up after being out in the rain."

Sonia slumped against Luna, moaning, "Aww…"

But, she took the cup she was offered, and sulked after Luna as she headed out into the living room. Lyra soon reappeared, and she and Ophiuca came to rest just inside the room as Luna and Sonia sat down on the massive sofa.

"Anyway," Luna said, "how's your drama going? You said you were starting to film the season finale, right?"

Sonia took a sip and nodded. "Mm-hm. We've got most of it done. Next week is the final scene and wrap party—I was actually going to see if you and everyone else wanted to come."

"Really? I'd love to!"

"Great! I'll talk to the studio about getting some passes, and then I'll let you know the exact details."

After pausing to take a drink, Luna asked, "So?"

Sonia turned to her.

"When you first agreed to do the show, you weren't entirely sure, and you said you'd try it for a season before deciding if you were going to continue or not. So, how do you feel about it now?"

Sonia looked up at the ceiling, resting her teacup in her lap as she thought. "Hmmmm…I don't know that my feelings have really changed all that much. I still think there are some benefits—people can relate to some of the show's events, so I can try to inspire more people this way. We've gotten a lot of support, and I'm really thankful for all of it, and I don't want to let anyone down."

Leaning towards her, Luna said, "If you don't enjoy it, you shouldn't keep at it just to please other people."

"It's not…" Sonia started, but then stopped. "…I know. I know, I'm not going to be able to please everyone. But I don't mean to sound like I hate working on the show. It can be a lot of fun, and they've given me tons of creative freedom." She sighed and took a drink. "I guess I'm kind of indifferent. It's weird, you'd think I'd have a better idea by now, right?"

"Maybe. I don't know, it could just be a relative thing. You seem to enjoy it, but not as much as you enjoy music. Comparing the two, the drama must come up short."

"Huh, maybe that's it…" She shrugged. "Whatever it is, I actually haven't decided if I want to do a second season yet. I'd like to give them an answer before we finish production, but…"

Luna watched as Sonia rotated the cup in her hands, staring at the tea as it swirled around. Reaching out, she tugged on the sleeve of her hoodie and said, "Don't let them rush you into any decision. If you need a little more time to know for sure, then you take it, alright?"

"I'd hate to keep them waiting."

"If they have to wait, they have to wait! A little hiatus never hurt anyone. You'll have an answer for them when you're good and ready. That's all there is to it!" Shifting her attention to Lyra, she added, "Make sure she remembers, okay?"

Lyra nodded. "You can count on me, dear."

A smile slowly broke across Sonia's face. Looking between the both of them, she said, "Thanks."

Luna let go and took another drink. "Well of course."

"Either way, I was thinking I'd like to go on tour soon," Sonia said. "It feels like it's been forever since I put on a show someplace new. I already picked out a few possible cities, actually."

"Oh…um, so…" Luna started, hiding her mouth behind her cup. "H-How far were you thinking of going?"

"At this point, I almost feel like a world tour, buuuut maybe that's going overboard." After thinking a moment, she turned sharply and added, "Uh, so I probably won't be going _too_ far. And even if I do, we can just use the Wave Roads to get back and forth in a snap, so it'll be like I never even left in a sense!"

"Ah, that's right," Luna mumbled.

"Heck, considering that, you could come and see me anywhere and get back home in no time. I've always got a ticket with your name on it, you know."

A small smile could be seen behind Luna's glass. "Heh. I'll keep that in mind."

Sonia giggled. Finishing her cup, she said, "The tea's delicious, by the way!"

She set the glassware on the coffee table and then grabbed her guitar, taking a moment to tune it and verify it hadn't been damaged in the rain. Once she was satisfied with the instrument's condition, Sonia thought for a moment, and then started to play slowly, while Luna watched intently and she pretended not to notice. Lyra and Ophiuca floated quietly on the other side of the room. Sonia's music lazily wove around them all, set against the faint roaring of the rain hitting the roof.

Luna stared, mesmerized by the gentle melody coming from Sonia's guitar. She moved from one note to the next so fluidly, like it was happening on its own, like she could produce such expert sound without even needing to put conscious thought into it. Luna's eyes wandered over Sonia's face, her expression neutral but still having a cheery air about it. She thought she saw her eyes move her way, just a little, but wasn't sure—the hypnotic sound gave everything a dreamlike quality. Luna wanted to move closer to Sonia, but all she could do was shift slightly before she froze up.

 _What's holding me back?_

She wanted to be closer, but when she tried, a nervous shock swept through her, rudely waking her from the dream. So Luna stayed where she was, and she listened. After some time there was a flash at the window—headlights, she assumed, and they reflected off of the trophy case for a brief moment. Remembering Sonia's request, Luna decided to try something else and downed the remainder of her tea.

"Hey," she whispered, almost feeling wrong for ending the tranquility of the moment. Sonia immediately stopped playing and faced her. "Let's…I-I mean, if you still want to…we could play together…"

Light filled Sonia's face. Eagerly, she leapt to the edge of her seat and near-shouted, "I'd love to!"

They both blushed a little. Luna cleared her throat as she stood, and then headed down the hall to her room. Sonia followed, while Lyra and Ophiuca decided it best to stay put. Rounding the corner, Luna reached through the doorway and flicked on the lightswitch, and then stepped over to the piano and carefully lifted the cover off the keys. Sonia sat down on the bench next to her, facing the opposite direction so that she could hold her guitar without it poking Luna in the face.

Luna ran her hand down the keys, and they each sounded off. "I, um, I'm not really used to being part of a duo, you know. So…what should we play?"

Sonia tapped her finger against the neck of the guitar. "How about…"

She started playing a simple tune. Luna listened for a few bars, and then began to mimic the notes on the piano. The two instruments strived to match each other, but the timing didn't exactly match up, so the sound came out wrong.

"Hold on," Luna said. They both stopped, and after a few seconds, she motioned to start again.

The two of them began playing at the same time, and were able to keep pace with each other much better. This time, rather than playing the exact same notes, Luna adjusted her playing to produce a slightly different sound that rose and fell just the same, and the resulting fusion sounded much better than their previous attempt.

"Great job," Sonia said as they finished.

"I think I've got the hang of it now," Luna said. "Let's try something else."

"Okay. You want to start this time?"

Luna nodded. When she had an idea, she played a piece of it for Sonia to listen to. It was more complex than the first tune, but nothing especially difficult; Sonia joined her when she restarted it, her guitar lining up perfectly with the piano and strengthening it with their harmony. They exchanged a glance, and then Luna altered the notes just a bit. Sonia matched her. They returned to the basic form for a short time, and then Sonia took her turn to improvise, and Luna followed her lead. They continued going back and forth like this for a while—neither was sure how long, but they enjoyed it so much they didn't entirely care about the time.

Eventually, they wrapped up the performance and let the instruments grow silent. Sonia laughed, and said, "You really are incredible, Luna."

Luna closed her eyes and straightened her back. "Hm. Well, it takes someone incredible to notice."

She turned slightly, her eyes locking with Sonia's. As they held their gaze, rain continued to pound against the roof above, though Luna could swear the pounding of her heart soon overtook it. Unconsciously, she just barely leaned towards Sonia. Sonia slowly came to meet her. Mere inches separated them. Luna felt herself freeze up again, and seeing this, Sonia stopped where she was as well.

 _No, I…_

She wanted to keep moving. Reaching within herself, Luna searched for the power to move her body those last few inches. Her concentration was broken by a sudden sound from the piano—her hands were shaking, and they had hit one of the keys by accident. Both of them recoiled in surprise. Luna pulled her hand close and clenched it into a fist, grabbing the wrist with her other hand, while Sonia looked down and awkwardly fumbled with her guitar.

"I-I'm sorry," Sonia said, "I shouldn't have—"

"N-No," Luna interrupted, "you have nothing to apologize for, I'm the one—"

"No, no, it's fine!"

"It's not that I—I just—"

"It's okay, really. It's…it's okay."

They stared off in opposite directions, a deadly wave of embarrassment washing over both of them. The pounding of the rain sounded deafening.

 _What's wrong with me?_

* * *

The door groaned gently as it swung open. A tall, slender woman slipped into the room, scanning her surroundings with a narrow glance from beneath the pink hair that framed her pale face. Her shoulders and arms were covered in gleaming white sleeves, while the rest of her dress was a deep reddish-brown sporting a faint argyle pattern, each piece of the design housing one of the four suite symbols found on playing cards. Her fingerless gloves were the same color, though her boots were a much lighter shade of red, and from her neck hung a massive piece of jewelry, made of blood-red gemstones encased in gold.

Heartless barely made a sound as she strode purposefully across the green-carpeted floor, moving past the enlarged poker chip decorations on the wall and setting her sights on the vault at the other end of the room. There was someone waiting at its door, a middle-aged man with thinning black hair slicked back in neat rows and a long, spindly mustache sprouting from just above his mouth. He wore a high-collared dress suit that was a very dark shade of blue, accented by gold buttons and ornaments, and beneath that there was a comparatively plain white shirt topped by a red ascot. White gloves sheathed his hands, and over his eyes was a mask made of thin metal that curved upward into two sharp points just beneath his hairline. He sat encased in a floating chair made of black and gold metal, its front coming up to his waist before flattening into a desk that projected a series of holographic screens before him. When he saw her approaching, he spread his arms out welcomingly.

"Ah, my dearest Heartless!" he greeted. "Thank you ever so much for responding so quickly to my summons."

Heartless bowed slightly. "Of course, Mr. King. What can I help you with?"

King moved his hands to either end of the row of screens before him, and then moved one towards the other in a single sweeping motion. The screens moved at his command, shrinking so that they all fell into a single stack in his palm, and then he swiped his fingertip across the top of the deck to send one screen flying out towards his associate. It came to a stop a few feet in front of her and grew into a full display once more. The image she saw was of a field of stars, and in one corner was an ominous blot of red light.

"This image was captured about an hour ago," King said, shuffling the screens in his hand absent-mindedly. "It's close now—almost close enough."

Heartless grinned. "What wonderful news. It would seem you were able to lure it successfully, as we all expected."

"Naturally," King said with a flourish of his hand. "However, the plan is still far from complete. We have only a fraction of the Crimson we need. Therefore, I believe it is time to escalate our efforts."

"A very wise decision, Mr. King."

"Ha ha ha! Heartless, gather the children, if you would be so kind. It's high time we had a family meeting." As she turned to leave, King drew the top screen of the deck he held and smiled at it. "You should prepare your wager, WAZA. True, I may no longer have an ace up my sleeve, but now we'll be playing by _my_ rules. And here, the house _always_ wins! Ha ha ha ha!"

* * *

Notes:

Hi. I guess I have some explaining to do.

Apologies for taking so long to start this one, I didn't mean the gap to last nine months. I only wanted to take a short break to disconnect from _Tribe_ and switch mindsets, and then get a few chapters' head start, but then I ended up getting distracted by things of both the Real Life and Hobbies varieties, plus writer's block. When I did start to make some headway, I remembered this year was Mega Man's 30th anniversary, so then I thought "Hey, I'll start it on the anniversary, that'll be neat!" which only lengthened the wait. Of course, you may notice that today is not the franchise's 30th anniversary, which leads me to the next thing.

Today is the 11th anniversary of the first Star Force games' release in Japan! The 30th anniversary of the Mega Man franchise is on December 17th, so partially to celebrate these milestones, partially to make up for the long wait, I'm going to give you all _plenty_ to read. **I will be posting a chapter a day for one full week, starting now!** Once I post chapter 7 on Wednesday I'll slow down, but more details on that when we get there. For now, happy anniversary Star Force! Happy anniversary Mega Man! I hope to make this story worth the wait!

Speaking of which, this is the first time in this series I'll be doing notes at the end of each chapter, so this is a perfect opportunity to thank all of you who have been reading the stories—whether you've been around since the beginning or if you just stumbled across it! When I started writing _Shooting Star Sonia_ I wasn't expecting anyone to pay it any mind, but it's done far better than I expected and has been an absolute blast to work on! I wouldn't have made it this far without all of you, and for that you have my utmost gratitude!

So, now I should probably address the title—I'm sure some of you are wondering why I went with _Red Joker_. I was initially considering _Noise_ as the title, to better fit with _Tribe_ , but that felt a bit too unspecific and I wanted to go with something that was more direct. And, though you've probably guessed, this does mean Sonia will be getting the Joker Program, and we won't be seeing a Black Ace Harp Note. _Let me explain!_ I originally wanted to use both Finalized Noise Changes, but trying to balance their usage seemed like it would be challenging, plus I would've needed to come up with a name for a program that could use both…Jokace? Acer? Meteor G Program? I don't like any of those names. This is easier. Also, ah, coming up with an idea for Red Joker Harp Note was going smoother than designing a Black Ace Harp Note, so…I guess I wanted to save myself a little work. (What I was thinking of seemed too close to Black Ace Mega Man, and I wasn't sure how to properly contrast it with my ideas for RJ, it just wasn't really coming together.) There's also another _very good_ reason why Sonia's only getting one program, but I won't spoil that just yet. Trust me, though: you're going to love it. There are a few other reasons why RJ got picked over BA (admittedly some bias was involved…don't get me wrong, Black Ace is _awesome,_ but I've always been a power over speed guy so Red Joker was what I grabbed first), but they're plot relevant so I'll discuss them as they come up.

Oh, and the rating. Don't know that I'll actually need it at T, but there might be a couple things that push it so I want to give myself that extra breathing room. Don't expect things to get too intense.

Okay, with all that out of the way…I knew pretty quickly that I wanted the first chapter of this story to be a quiet one focusing on Sonia and Luna. I wanted to establish where they are now since their relationship is going to be a big focus for the first part of the story, and while I have struggled writing relationships in the past I am doing my _utmost_ to improve upon that. Believe in me! And also leave feedback, that'll really help too!

And that's right, _all_ of the returning Wave Changes will be getting slight modifications! (One exception to be revealed later.) With the explanation given in SF3 for Geo's new look, it sounded like it should have affected them all, and though I completely understand not wanting to take the time to model all of that when you're working on a video game, I'm using words alone so I have no such excuse. I'll also be tweaking their abilities, since this seems like the best time to do that. Sonia's change came about pretty easily: the sleeves seemed like a good place for a noticeable shift, the headset mic just seemed to make sense as an improvement for an idol-themed character, and that eliminated the need for the mic on the guitar (and redesigning that is roughly equivalent to the redesigning of Geo's buster). Her new abilities will be revealed soon! As for Luna...yes, I changed the hair. It felt wrong. But come on, do you know how hard it is to "streamline" a _snake_?! The hair was the only outright bulky element I could work with! She still has the hair in her human form, it isn't completely gone, please don't hate me.

Got to be honest…I chuckle every time I look at "007: Queen Ophiuca". I've never even seen a 007 movie. I shouldn't be as amused as I am. Anyway, I do plan to fill in the gaps in the Transcodes, but the highest one in SF3 is 020 (Cygnus Wing) and…pulling in everyone I thought was reasonable to include, I only ended up with 17, so there are going to be some minimal changes to canon Transcodes to get rid of those gaps. _Very_ few, though.

The connection between Mega and Acid originates in the Star Force Official Complete Works (henceforth OCW) as a design comparison, and is expanded quite a bit here. Since Acid did end up being extremely similar and it makes sense that WAZA would have a lot of data on Mega in this series, this seemed like a natural way to justify that similarity, and will also have bearing on Mega and Acid's relationship throughout.

So why hasn't Luna mentioned she plays piano before now? Because I completely forgot about it until half way through _Tribe_. I can't believe I forgot that. She's dating a musician, I could have really capitalized on that before now, this is honestly one of my biggest regrets thus far, I CANNOT BELIEVE

And naturally, we close off with an Ominous Scene Featuring Villains. You've probably come to expect that from me. I don't apologize. I want to quickly get a feel for how to write King and Heartless, and get some early feedback if I'm really doing it wrong, though honestly I enjoy what I've got here. I mean, please tell me if you don't. I want to know. I'm just saying I'm optimistic.

(Sidenote: did you know that King's gloves are atrocious? I was looking at references in the OCW and they start at the _middle of his hands_ and then go out to cover his fingers. They're like…reverse fingerless gloves. They're abominable. In this story he has regular, functioning gloves that actually look good on people. Like he should have had to start with.)

You might've been able to tell, but we'll be kicking off the action with the Diamond Ice scenario! Partly because that's already Sonia-centric, and partly because…I just enjoy rearranging things, and SF3's plot is far less episodic so this is really my only chance to do so. Check back tomorrow for chapter 2!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

" _I was weighed down by pain, couldn't get away…"_

Sonia grimaced, her fingers slipping off of the guitar's strings. After thinking for a second, she tentatively started over.

" _I was afraid to be lied to, so I never got close…"_

With a sigh, she leaned back in her chair and kicked at the vanity set before it, spinning herself around. "It still doesn't feel right."

Watching from across the dressing room, Lyra commented, "It's been a while since you've had such trouble writing lyrics."

Sonia kicked again to combat her slowing momentum. "I don't know what it is. I just haven't been able to pin down the feel of this song, I guess."

"Perhaps you're preoccupied?"

Sonia's spinning began to slow, and this time she didn't do anything to stop it. As she faced the mirror once more, she found herself looking at the picture tucked into the corner of the frame: it showed her and Luna at a wintery Vista Point, grinning and holding each other close enough that they could share a scarf, while glittering diamond dust snow drifted down behind them. She could feel a subtle chill as she stared at it.

"I'd be happy to listen, you know," Lyra said.

"I know," Sonia said, coming to a complete stop. "And thanks. But…I don't have anything new to say."

"Even after your duet? Nothing?"

Sonia traced the outline of her guitar, eyes still fixed on the picture. "…We came closer…I thought that maybe we'd finally…" She turned and shook her head. "Listen to me. I shouldn't be talking like that."

She hopped to her feet.

"Either way, nothing's really changed. Besides, I don't want to bring myself down! I want to make sure everyone has fun today!"

"Hm. Well, you know I don't have much advice to offer you on this matter…but I think I know someone who does."

Sonia glanced in the mirror, lightly touching up her make-up. "…I'll think about it. Just, not today."

"Alright."

She smoothed out the wrinkles in her costume, a school uniform with a light grey shirt and a long, solid dark blue skirt. Hearing a knock, she headed for the door, opening it to find Luna there holding a bouquet of flowers.

"Hey!" Sonia greeted, instantly smiling. "Wow, are those for me?"

Luna's arms jerked a bit as she held out the flowers. "I-Is it too much? I wasn't sure, but I thought I should do _something_ , so…"

"No, they're beautiful!" Taking the bundle of red and yellow roses, Sonia paused to smell them, and then added, "Thank you!"

Luna smiled, letting out a short breath. "Sure. I'm glad you like them!"

Sonia backed up to search for a vase. "Is everyone here?"

"Mostly. Amy's bus hasn't arrived yet, so I said I'd come get you while the others waited."

"Ah, I guess she is a bit farther out. Well, let's go!"

Once Lyra returned to her guitar, Sonia stepped into the hall and closed the door behind her. She and Luna headed for the lobby—her hand moved towards hers instinctively, but she hesitated before she reached her, and ended up pulling back.

"This place isn't as busy as I expected," Luna commented as she surveyed the halls.

"We're the only ones shooting today, and we only have one last scene to do," Sonia explained. "It's a nice change, really: most days it's so crowded I have to dart and weave through the halls. I should be an expert at dodging next time I fight someone."

"Don't get too sure of yourself, dear," Lyra warned. "It's been some time since you've had a real fight, and avoiding hallway collisions doesn't take quite the same combat sense."

"Come on, it was just a joke."

Luna chuckled. "Well, here's hoping you won't have to find out any time soon."

Up ahead, someone emerged from another room: the girl looked about the same age as Luna and Sonia, and had brown hair pulled into a ponytail on one side of her head. She wore a dress that was light green and off-white, with blue pants beneath. Following behind her was a small blue Wizard carrying a clipboard in her hands.

"And don't forget!" the Wizard said. "You have that interview next week, so we're going to need to go over some wardrobe options later!"

"I know, Ice," the girl said. She turned to say something more when she spotted Sonia. Stopping and waving, she called, "Hey, Sonia!"

"Morning, Belle!" Sonia greeted. "Good morning, Ice."

"Hmph," the Wizard snorted. "Belle, we need to go."

"Just a second," Belle said, "I should at least introduce myself."

"Right!" Sonia said, gesturing towards Luna. "This is Luna, my…one of my Brothers."

"Oh, so you're Luna! I've heard so much about you it almost feels like we've already met. I'm Belle, Sonia's co-star!"

"Nice to meet you!" Luna said. "I watch the show every week—you're phenomenal!"

"Ah, that's so nice of you! Sonia's the really incredible one."

"Don't sell yourself so short," Sonia said. "You've been acting a lot longer than I have, after all. I wouldn't have lasted til now without all the advice you've given me!"

"And don't you forget it!" Ice butted in. "Belle's the one who's carrying this show!"

Belle's smile weakened as she turned to her Wizard. "Ice, don't be like that."

Luna turned Ice's way as well, her eyes narrowing a bit. "So, your name is Ice? I can't say I've heard of you."

"I'm Belle's Wizard, and her manager. So I would appreciate it if you didn't do anything more to distract her."

"Oh, I didn't realize politely greeting someone was so distracting. I suppose I should tread more carefully."

"Yes. You should."

Belle nervously glanced between the two of them, while Sonia gently tapped Luna's shoulder. "Uh, we should probably get going, actually. I'll see you on set, Belle."

"Y-Yes," Belle said, quickly smiling again, "see you! Come on, Ice, I still need to get in costume."

It took a few seconds, but Luna and Ice complied and went their separate ways. When they were out of earshot, Luna mumbled, "I can see why Ice never came up."

"Yeah, I'm not good with her," Sonia said, scratching her head. "She doesn't like the fact that Belle and I actually get along well, but it's not like I want to change that, so I'm at a loss."

"Hrm. It's a shame someone as nice as Belle has to be stuck with a terrible manager…well, I guess you can relate."

Sonia shook her head. "No, it isn't really like that. Ice is definitely abrasive, but she really cares about Belle and wants her to succeed—she's always saying that Belle is 'too nice' and that she needs to be more aggressive to make it big. I don't agree with her, but she's just trying to help Belle, so I can respect that. That's _way_ better than my old manager."

Luna thought for a moment before replying, "Alright, but if she keeps putting you down I can't be expected to hold back."

"Heheh. Duly noted."

They exited the building and came out onto a long path made of gray bricks, with a line of evenly-spaced trees on either side all the way from the studio entrance to the Wave Liner stop at the road. It wasn't long before they could spot the group hanging around the stop: Geo, Pat, Bud, and Zack all waited on the sidewalk, and they soon turned and waved to the two of them.

"Hi guys!" Sonia said as she ran up to the stop. "Thanks for coming!"

"Thanks for inviting us!" Geo said. "It's a little hard to believe we're really here. I'm kind of nervous."

"I know what you mean," Zack said. "Just thinking about all the important people around here is making me dizzy."

"There's absolutely no pressure!" Sonia said. "Pretty much everyone here is really nice—the worst they'll do is say hi to you."

"But what if I make a mistake in returning the greeting?" Zack said, adjusting his glasses. "I could end up disrespecting someone big, and then the next thing I know I have a bunch of enemies in high places…"

Appearing out of Geo's Hunter, Mega said, "Aren't all your enemies in high places compared to you?"

As Zack began arguing over how many inches he'd grown in the past year, Luna noticed Bud was still staring up the road. "Bud!" she called.

Snapping to attention, he said, "Huh?! O-Oh, yeah, I'm nervous too!"

"About Amy?" Sonia asked.

Bud glanced up the road again. "…Yeah, mostly. She's been out of the country competing for a while, and this'll be the first time I've seen her in person since she's been back. I want to show her how cool the new Taurus Fire is!"

"You don't really look all _that_ different," Geo said.

"Oh…well, then I'll impress her with my skills! After all the training we did, I bet I can burn hotter than ever!"

"I'd say you burn hot enough already," Pat said. "We needed an awful lot of help putting out the school garden."

Bud slumped. "Y-Yeah…I'm still sorry about that."

With a burst of flame, Taurus appeared in the air next to him. "I'm sorry too, but it was still an accident! And we did everything we could to keep it from spreading."

Pat sighed. "I'm just glad it was out before Mr. Wolfe got back. He can get really scary when he's mad."

"He _was_ scary. You're saying he can get worse than that?"

"Oh, definitely."

Giving Pat a concerned glance, Geo asked, "When did you see him get that angry?"

Pat chuckled. "It's, uh, kind of a long story…"

Before anything more could be said, Bud suddenly jumped. "There! That's gotta be her!"

Sure enough, a Wave Liner was on its way down the track. Everyone took a step back (though Geo and Zack had to pull Bud) and waited as it came to a stop, opened its doors, and slowly let its passengers out. Hidden within the small crowd was a tan girl with brown hair that fell to the sides of her face and also formed a geyser-like ponytail at the top of her head, wearing orange and yellow skirted skiwear and a large yellow headband. She glanced around as she stepped onto the sidewalk, but upon seeing Bud, she stopped where she was and smiled.

"Amy!" Bud said, running towards her.

"Bud!" she said as he hugged her, lifted her up, and spun her around. "It's so great to see you!"

Light shot from her Hunter and onto the ground, soon shaping itself into the familiar form of Yeti. Clasping hands with Taurus, he said, "Taurus! How've you been?"

"Mrrrgh, not too bad!" the FM-ian replied. "And how about you? Haven't gotten rusty spending so much time riding around in a Hunter, have you?"

"Hey, I've been fighting my fair share of viruses! If you need to see it for yourself, I'd be happy to show you."

"Haha, maybe later. I'll give you a chance to prepare yourself."

As Bud set Amy down, she turned to the rest of the group. "It's great to see _all_ of you! Thanks so much for the pass, Sonia—I wasn't sure when I was going to get the time to catch up with everyone."

"My pleasure!" Sonia said. "How was the competition? Set any new records?"

Amy held two of her fingers close together. "Almost. I'm going to need to shave off a few seconds if I want to get into the books, but I still managed to outpace my competitors by a good margin."

"They never stood a chance!" Yeti said.

"And it seems you've been doing well!" Amy said. "I love the show, though with all the travel, I am a little bit behind."

"Ah, I see," Sonia said. She raised one finger in front of her mouth. "We'll try not to spoil anything. This scene is just a normal conversation, so I don't think you have anything to worry about."

Amy laughed and nodded her thanks. Bud began to talk to her excitedly while Sonia turned towards Luna, who was staring off somewhere.

"…You okay?" Sonia asked.

Luna turned. "Huh? Oh, sorry, I just thought I saw…" She turned back for a moment, and then took a step towards Geo. "Hey, Geo. Am I seeing things, or is that…?"

She pointed, and Geo and Sonia both looked. Further down the sidewalk, near the edge of the property, a short boy with a mess of black hair, some sort of pendant, and an unusual purple jacket ambled about, occasionally making short glances in their direction.

Geo inclined his head. "Oh…no, I think that's actually Jack. What's he doing here?"

"Go ask him," Luna ordered. Geo reluctantly complied, and she turned back to Sonia. "Sorry, but I think that's someone from our class."

Sonia took another look at the boy. "Really? I don't think I've seen him around Echo Ridge before."

Luna shook her head. "He just transferred here. He's very…" She stopped, averting her gaze as she contemplated what she wanted to say. "Well, he acts a little like Geo used to, back before we all got to know each other. Just, with more of a temper."

Sonia nodded, watching as Geo started conversing with the other boy. "I'm guessing you're trying to bring him out of his shell?"

"More or less," Luna said. "…I was going to back off for a while, actually. But, if he's here, maybe…"

Soon Geo returned with Jack in tow. Hands in his pockets, Jack's eyes darted back and forth between everyone assembled, and he was hunched over in a way that seemed like he was trying to keep his guard up. After a pause, he quietly said, "Um…hi."

"I have to say, we're all a bit surprised to see you, Jack," Luna said.

Jack shrugged. "I was just…out walking around, and I noticed you guys were over here…so, I was thinking I might…see what you were up to?"

Sonia found herself frowning a little as she watched him. It was easy to see how much effort he was putting into those words—he clearly didn't want to interact with them at all, or at least that was how it seemed to her.

 _Does he even want to be anywhere near us? But then, why's he trying? Is it just to be polite? Or, maybe he actually wants to try to break out of his comfort zone?_

Suddenly he glanced at her, and she felt a chill run down her spine. Smiling as fast as she could, she said, "Hi. I'm Sonia. Luna tells me you just transferred to Echo Ridge?"

Jack glanced away without answering. Luna said, "We're here to tour the studio, actually. Sonia here is filming a show, so she invited us to watch."

"I could get you a pass too, if you'd like," Sonia offered without thinking. "If you're friends with my friends, then you're definitely welcome."

He thought it over for a minute, and then mumbled, "I-If…if it isn't any trouble…"

"Sure, just wait here for a second and I'll be right back!"

Sonia doubled back towards the studio, leaving the others to keep Jack company. As she went, Lyra said, "What a charming fellow."

"I'm sure he has his reasons."

"Maybe. But, to tell you the truth, dear…there's something about him I find rather unsettling."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I can't say for certain. It's more intuition, I suppose."

Sonia stopped to look back. Everyone was right where she left them, Luna patiently trying to talk to an unresponsive Jack. Sighing, she said, "If you think so, then I'll keep an eye on him. But, if Luna's decided to 'recruit' him, then I'd like to help her out."

Lyra chuckled. "Well, I certainly wouldn't want to get in her way without a more concrete reason. Carry on, dear."

Sonia opened the studio door and made her way towards the desk. She did her best to stay optimistic, but Lyra wasn't the only one with a bad feeling.

* * *

"You're really sure about this, Sky?"

Sonia nodded, her back to Belle. "I've thought a lot about it, Aqua...my mind's made up." Turning and grinning, she added, "Can I still count on you?"

Belle smiled and said, "Definitely. We're Brothers, right?"

Sonia stepped forward to reply, but a loud sound cut her off before she could say her next line. Glancing back, she could see a plume of smoke rising up from behind the studio, and her expression changed in an instant.

"Wow," Bud muttered, "this finale's really shaking things up."

As the crew began to murmur worriedly, someone burst out of the studio and ran towards them. "Someone call the police!" they shouted. "A bunch of Wizards have started going crazy!"

"What?" one of the crewman said. "Hang on, what exactly do you mean by—"

Suddenly, a Wizard holding a camera cried out, their whole body spasming as sparks popped around them. The person who had come from the studio pointed at them, and that was enough to make the crew scatter.

Facing the malfunctioning Wizard, Sonia asked, "Lyra, can you tell what's going on?"

The EM being before her was morphing slowly—his torso was growing larger at a steady pace, while static-like energy oozed out from his joints and coalesced into globs in various places. His eyes went wide, blanketed by eerie yellow light, and one hand became coated in enough static that the energy formed into a long blade, while his other hand twisted and stretched until it came to resemble a triple barrel gun.

"Urgh…" Lyra grunted, sounding like she was about to be sick. "I'm not sure, dear, but I think we'll have to figure that out later."

The Wizard screeched. Sonia reached for her guitar immediately, but then stopped to look around and realized Belle and Ice were still nearby.

 _I might not have a choice but to transform in front of her, though._

Belle turned towards her for a second. Almost in response, she turned to Ice and said, "L-Let's get out of here. We need to make sure the police are on their way!"

Ice nodded fervently. "Oh! Good thinking, Belle! Let's go!"

As the two of them headed off, Geo and the others moved towards Sonia; she waved them back, trying to gesture towards the smoke behind the studio without drawing Belle's attention. They understood: there were more Wizards like this running around the studio, so it would be best if they split up and tracked down each one.

The group set off, Amy saying, "We can help out too, right Yeti?"

"Yeah, definitely!" the PM-ian said. "I can knock a few heads!"

"You just focus on keeping the innocent bystanders safe," Mega replied. "Amy, Zack, Pat, find somewhere to hide and let Yeti take care of anything dangerous."

Amy frowned. "But, we can help!"

"No need to worry, Amy—we've got it covered!" Bud said.

"Hey," said Luna, almost out of Sonia's earshot, "has anyone seen Jack? If we lost track of him, then…"

Another screech from the corrupted Wizard told Sonia she needed to focus on what she was doing. She smiled and swung her guitar forward, saying, "Sorry to keep you waiting. Let's roll! Transcode 004!"

In a flash, she was Wave Changed, and she took up a defensive stance as she watched her opponent. She didn't have to wait long—the Wizard lunged forward, swinging its sword hand, so she leapt to the side and played a few notes to see how it would react. The attacks hit their target dead-on, and the Wizard shouted and flailed a bit before turning to face Sonia again.

"Not too bright," Lyra said. "Perhaps the poor fellow just can't think straight as a result of whatever this is."

"So he's not in control of his own actions," Sonia mused, feeling a bit more reluctant.

The Wizard, on the other hand, had no such qualms. Shooting forward, he swung again, and again Sonia dodged, though this time she didn't strike back. She ducked as the Wizard fired a few bullets from his gun, and then heard another explosion from not too far away.

 _Right. In control or not, I need to disable him for everyone's safety._

She twisted one of the knobs on her guitar, and the pink energy flowing through it changed to a lighter shade. When she played more notes, the resulting energy blasts she summoned shot out much faster than before, battering the Wizard a dozen times in the blink of an eye and making him reel. Sonia jumped forward and took the guitar's neck in both hands, swinging upward and sending the Wizard flying with a solid blow from the instrument. He was wrapped in strings before he even hit the ground.

She cautiously approached, saying, "I don't want to hurt you. Can you understand me? If you tell me what's wrong, I may be able—"

The Wizard opened his mouth and coughed up some sort of energy ball. It flew out and hit Sonia, releasing a paralyzing shock on contact, and the Wizard used the opportunity to struggle free of the strings restricting him. Sonia tried to get out of the way, but her muscles didn't respond fast enough to get her clear of the next slash. She rolled back up onto her feet, getting a trio of bullets in the face, and staggered back until she could regain her balance. In seconds, the Wizard was on top of her again. She was able to raise her arm and catch the sword on her bracelet, but he pulled back before she could hit him with her guitar.

"Shoot," she breathed, running past more bullets. "He's doing awfully well for a non-Battle Wizard."

As soon as the Wizard stopped his attack, Sonia planted her feet and threw her guitar at him. When it left her hand, the strings automatically extended and wrapped around her wrist; the instrument kept going until it hit the enemy, at which point Sonia grabbed the strings and they locked, allowing her to swing the guitar in a circle and get in three more hits before reeling the flail back in. The Wizard hacked up another energy ball, but this time Sonia unleashed a barrage of fast notes that dissipated it while also pushing her foe back. She ran forward then, twisting the dial in the opposite direction, and the light on her guitar darkened until it was deep red. The Wizard swung his sword, so she maneuvered her guitar so that the head blocked it. The next note she played produced one very large, if slow-moving, musical note directly in front of her, and a second later it touched the Wizard and released a devastating blast.

Sonia allowed herself a deep breath. She stayed put as she watched the Wizard, setting her guitar back to quick blasts just in case. The explosion had flung him back into a tree, where he still sat dazed, though it appeared the static-like energy he produced was starting to flicker and fade. A few seconds later it vanished entirely, and the Wizard returned to his original form and dropped onto the pavement with a moan.

"Are you alright?" Sonia asked as she stored her guitar and ran over.

"Ungh," the Wizard grunted, "I don't know…what happened? I was filming, and then…"

He put a hand to his head. Sonia looked to see if anyone who could help was nearby, and that was when she noticed something else falling from the tree: a card, roughly the same size as a Battle Card, with a stylized image of a sword printed on it. She picked it up and stared for a second, before pocketing it and turning her attention back to the Wizard.

"I'm going to get you some help," she said. "Just stay here and rest."

She got up and headed for the studio, ducking behind a tree to undo her Wave Change before she entered. "So he wasn't in control after all."

"Do you suppose that card has something to do with this?" Lyra asked.

"I don't know, but it can't hurt to hang onto it. I'll call Mr. Boreal once this is all under control—hopefully he'll be able to clear some of this up for us."

* * *

Notes:

You may recognize one of those lyrics. Sonia won't have that song ready for this scenario like she does in the game, but that's because I'm saving it for something else. It will look a little different, of course.

Amy won't be appearing in every scenario, but I did want to bring her back as a secondary character—it always seemed odd to me that SF2 set her up to be Bud's love interest and then she just dropped off the face of the Earth. By this point Yeti has more or less become her personal Wizard, and she's gotten the full briefing on EM beings and whatnot, so we'll see how she contributes going forward.

I wasn't entirely sure how to bring Jack in. Keeping him as a transfer student to Echo Ridge seemed best, but since that all happened off-screen I worry that his appearance here is a bit too abrupt. You've probably all played SF3, though, so I'm sure I don't need to go too in-depth into his first few days in class.

The name for Sonia's drama character was meant as a nod to the anime—the dub calls her Sonia Sky. For Belle I figured I'd go with a similar element theme naming, and since her Wizard is Aqua element that was the first thing that came to mind. If I ever expand on this show I'll probably just add in a Terra and a Blaze just to round it out. (I don't see that happening though.)

A simple Noised Wizard doesn't have quite the same flair as Taurus Fire, but it's sufficient to show off some of Harp Note's new abilities. The one we'll probably see the most is that she can adjust her guitar so that its blasts are faster but weaker, or stronger but slow-moving, sort of like the Mega Buster's rapid fire vs charge shot capabilities. As for the flail attack…well, I just thought it'd look cool. She has a couple more tricks that you'll see later, also.

Next time we'll delve deeper into this scenario, and see the stakes get raised dramatically!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Sonia held the mysterious card up in front of the holographic screen. Boreal narrowed his eyes at it.

"It fell out of the tree just after the Wizard," she explained. "I'm not sure if it was there the whole time or if he had it on him, but it seemed a little suspicious."

Boreal put a hand over his face, still glaring at the card. In a hushed tone, he said, "I see. Do you have somewhere safe you can keep it?"

"Um…yeah, I should be able to hide it if that's what you mean."

"Good. Please make sure it's somewhere no one but you can find it. I can't send an officer right this second, but I'll send somebody as soon as I can to collect it."

"Okay." Sonia turned it over in her hand. "…So you _do_ recognize it."

Boreal averted his gaze for a few seconds. "Yes. But I can't explain over a call."

Floating closer, Lyra said, "My, that makes it sound a bit serious."

"You can worry about that later. For now, just forget about it and have fun. I promise I'll explain everything later."

Sonia tapped her fingers. "…Alright. I'm going to hold you to that."

Boreal finally smiled as he replied, "I'll prepare the briefing immediately. Break a leg."

The screen vanished, and Sonia slung her guitar back over her shoulder. She looked to Lyra, who said, "I get the strangest feeling we're about to be very busy."

"Yeah," Sonia said with a sigh, "I guess that tour will have to wait."

As she surveyed the dressing room to select a hiding spot, Lyra said, "I can't imagine it'll take too long. After everything we've already dealt with, not to mention the allies who keep accumulating, we should be reasonably well-prepared."

Sonia hummed. "I hope. But, I don't want to get cocky again." Opening a drawer in the vanity, she held the card over it for a moment, and then grabbed some tape and stuck the object inside the drawer on the underside of the desk. "I'll be sure to take it seriously…starting tomorrow."

The two of them exited the room and made for the lobby, where virtually the entire studio crew had gathered. Sonia picked her friends out from the crowd and aimed for them, and as she was drawing close, Luna faced her.

"Are you alright?" the other girl asked quietly.

"Just fine," Sonia said. "No one else is hurt, right?"

"We were able to knock the Wizards out easily enough, but we still haven't found Jack. I'm getting worried."

Before Sonia could say anything else, a crew member stepped towards her. "Sonia, did you see her?"

Turning towards him, she asked, "Huh? Who?"

"The Wizard they're patching up said he was helped by a girl with pink armor who fought with a guitar. It sounds just like that girl we keep seeing every so often, Harp Note!"

Sonia almost winced. Luckily, she caught herself in time and instead looked up like she was thinking. "Uh, who?"

"You know! That girl who shows up every now and then when there's an accident or a crime report. There have been rumors about her for a few years now, but she's been doing a lot more little things lately—she keeps showing up to incidents we're reporting on, sometimes with other people with weird powers, but she never sticks around. How can you forget someone like that? Belle, you know who I'm talking about, right?"

Belle jumped. "H-Huh? Yeah, I…I've seen her a few times."

Sonia heard a quiet, snickering voice say, "And she says she stays here just for the show." Judging by how Geo moved to cover his Hunter, it was probably Mega.

"You had to see her," the crewman said. "You stayed out there the longest, after all."

Realizing she couldn't get out of this, Sonia faked an epiphany. "Oh, her! Right, uh, someone like that did show up. She didn't say her name, so I got confused!"

The crewman and a few others leaned forward. "Really?! What happened?"

"She just…said she had it covered, and that it'd be safer if I got out of there. That's all, really."

The crew backed off and started chattering. Ice was hanging nearby, and smirked at this. "Oh. So, despite putting up a show of staying behind, you didn't really accomplish anything, did you?"

"Ice," Belle whispered, "don't do that. It's not like we'd do any better."

"Right. I guess there's not much you can do with a simple Wizard."

Lyra materialized with a scowl. "Hm? Funny, I could almost swear you were insulting me. How peculiar that would be, seeing as you certainly didn't accomplish anything either."

Ice glared at her. Behind her, the crew was saying, "People saw a few others with weird powers handling the Wizards too. Do you think any of them are still around?"

Bud snorted. Amy gently elbowed him in the ribs.

"They could be," said another crew member. "Maybe we should go look for them, see if they'd agree to an interview!"

"Excuse me!" Ice interrupted. "We have a scene to finish!"

"But this could be our only chance to meet up with these strangers! There are so many rumors about how they pop up and disappear all the time—if we could get some answers on the subject, the ratings for our network would skyrocket!"

"What? So you'll just leave the episode unfinished?!"

"We've got enough footage to edit together a proper ending already, really. It wouldn't be a big deal, right Sonia?"

She knew she had to make a quick decision. Her first instinct was to redirect everyone's focus onto something else, so she was about to push the filming, but when she remembered that Jack was still missing she realized that having everyone scouring the studio would give them a much better chance of finding him. Luna seemed to think so too, as she tugged on Sonia's sleeve.

"Yeah…you're right," Sonia said. "We could just go with what we have."

The crew immediately began to scamper away. Ice, on the other hand, stormed right up to Sonia. "How dare you! You can't keep robbing Belle of chances to shine!"

"That's not what she's doing!" Belle said, desperately jumping forward. "It's fine, Ice, it—"

"It's not fine!" Ice said, hopping up and down in anger. "When someone gets in your way, Belle, you need to make them move! You need to play more aggressively if you're going to make it to the top!"

Belle sighed deeply. Ignoring Ice, she turned to Sonia and said, "Anyway, I'm glad to see you didn't get hurt. For what it's worth I agree: the tail end of that scene wasn't really essential, and with all this excitement I'd actually prefer just taking a rest."

Sonia smiled at her. Ice moved to say something, but Lyra cut her off with a look. As Sonia and her friends left the lobby, Ice turned to Belle and asked, "What are you thinking?!"

Belle faced Ice. The look on her face was far from intimidating, but still, it was probably the angriest Ice had ever seen her look. "Ice, you need to calm down! This isn't the time to be making a fuss over something so small. You're always overreacting and making accusations against people, and…" She paused, apparently needing a moment to prepare herself. "Well, it's seriously unhelpful!" A second later, all the energy she had built up faded, and her voice became quiet once more. "So…just, please…please, calm down. Okay?"

At first Ice stared at her. Then, she turned around and crossed her arms. With another sigh, Belle walked out of the lobby, leaving Ice alone.

"…I'm just trying to do my job," Ice murmured to herself.

"Must be frustrating."

She spun around to see a boy standing there. "Huh? Who are you?"

"Seems that girl doesn't appreciate what you do for her."

Though unsure about this newcomer, Ice's need to vent won out over reason. "She doesn't get it. She's wonderful, but she thinks everyone else is wonderful too, and that just isn't the case! I was programmed to be her manager, so I gathered all the data I could on the entertainment industry. There was only one conclusion: it's a brutal competition. Belle isn't prepared for that, so if she wants to succeed, I have to push her in that direction."

"Heh. So you're saying she needs to toughen up, right? Grow a backbone, make some enemies, maybe cut a few throats?"

"Of course! That's what she's up against—she has to be able to match her rivals. Otherwise, she'll never beat that Sonia Strumm. And now everyone's head over heels for these weirdos who popped up out of nowhere, and she's perfectly fine with it? She has no idea what she's doing!"

"In that case…why don't you show her yourself?"

"Huh?"

Before Ice realized what was happening, the boy had drawn something out of his pocket—a card, she thought—and thrown it at her. She was too surprised to avoid it. Once it touched her, a wave of intense pain rushed through her, and electricity began to crackle around her body.

"Agh! W-What is this?"

Though Ice couldn't see it clearly, an image made of yellow light appeared in front of her: a stylized diamond. The boy laughed, and said, "A gift. With this, you'll be able to cut all the throats you want!"

Soon the pain stopped. Ice took a moment to catch her breath, and then looked at herself to see if she had taken any kind of damage. What she saw was that her body had changed completely. Her form was like that of a human, but with unnatural gray skin; she wore a jumpsuit decorated with sharp designs in black and multiple shades of blue, and large angular fins jutted from her back and shoulders, with similar protrusions on her legs that almost resembled a skirt. A blue hood with two massive, triangular, ear-like decorations was pulled over her head, from under which poked a tuft of red hair, and attached to her feet were large blades like ice skates.

"You should be a good test run for this suite. How does it feel, Diamond Ice?"

As she examined herself, a strange feeling started to seep into Ice's head. It was as if some haze was being pulled over her mind, covering up any concerns she might've had and letting her instead focus on the immense power she could now feel.

"I'm…strong now, aren't I?" Ice said, staring at her open palm.

The boy rolled his eyes. "Wow, you catch on quick."

Ice tried to gather her thoughts, but the intoxicating haze made it impossible. For the first time, she felt _powerful_. She felt like she could take apart anyone who got in her way. She felt like she was strong enough that she could do anything she wanted. And what she wanted was…

She clenched her fist, and a smirk formed on her lips. "I'll freeze Belle's enemies in their tracks. No…I'll shatter them into a million pieces! Anyone who tries to stop her from reaching the top will be ground into powder!"

The boy smiled. "Now you're getting it."

Ice laughed, spinning around with her arms outstretched. "Oh, this is incredible! With this power, I can finally get Belle what she deserves! And I know just where to start!"

* * *

"I don't think anyone's checked down this hall yet," Sonia said.

"Perhaps I should go inspect the security footage," Lyra proposed. "I'm sure he's been on camera somewhere."

"I'd hate to mess with the security, but that might be…"

She trailed off as she spotted someone going around a corner.

"Jack!" she shouted, running over to him.

He slowly turned around. "O-Oh, hey…"

"I'm so glad we found you! Ah, I need to let everyone else know you're okay."

She quickly put together an email to send to the others. Jack stared at her, ultimately asking, "Were they all running around looking for me?"

Looking up, she replied, "Of course! We hadn't seen you since before the Wizards starting going crazy. What happened?"

Jack scratched his head. "I…was just walking around, and when I saw Wizards freaking out I went and found a place to hide."

"Where did you hide?"

"…I think it was some kind of closet. I stayed there for a while—I just now came out to see if things had settled down."

"I see." Completing the email, she hit send, and then put her guitar away. "Well, don't worry: all the Wizards are back to normal, so it's perfectly safe again. We can get back to the others and kill some time until the concert starts."

Jack turned all the way around. "Sounds great."

Sonia waited, but he didn't say or do anything else. Eventually, she got tired of waiting, sighed, and said, "You aren't really interested in spending time with everyone, are you?"

He whirled around, eyes wide. "What?!"

Holding her hands up, she said, "S-Sorry if I sounded rude! I just mean, you don't seem like you're all that used to getting to know people."

Jack appeared to relax a bit. "Oh…uh…y-yeah, that's it. Sorry."

"It's okay. If you really don't like people, then I'm sure you have your reasons."

He turned away again.

"…Still, it looks like you're trying to change that. Otherwise you wouldn't be here, right?"

Jack chuckled to himself. "Not sure I have much of a choice. Does that Prez girl ever let up?"

"Heh, she's definitely not one to back off. I know she's a force to be reckoned with, but she has good intentions, trust me."

"Really…" Jack stared off for a few seconds. Looking over his shoulder, he said, "But she probably wants something in return, right?"

She stopped to think for a second. "She'll put you to work, I'm sure. But that's something she does with all her friends."

Jack shrugged. "Some friendship."

A spark of annoyance flared in the back of Sonia's mind. She did her best to set it aside, but it still showed more than she had wanted it to. "She's also always willing to return the favor. So, yeah. She's a good friend. And if she's making an effort with you, then it's because she's seen something that makes her want to be your friend. She doesn't choose just anyone, Jack."

Jack faced her again.

"…I don't know all the details, but from what I've heard, Bud, Zack, and Geo were all pretty much on their own before Luna reached out to them. I didn't know any of them back then, but I know that they're all really happy around her now. And…I've gained a lot from her friendship too."

"You're saying I should just become friends with her?"

"No. I'm just letting you know what it is she's really offering you."

Jack stared for a moment, and then shoved his hands in his pockets with a sigh. "So you two are a thing, right?"

The sudden question made Sonia blush. "Huh?! Are we…why do you ask?"

"You're totally obvious about it. I don't even care about that stuff, but really, anyone would notice it."

Unsure what to say, Sonia ended up stammering, "That's, uh…well, we're…we're…I mean, I guess you could…"

Her thoughts suddenly went back to the duet. In seconds, her flustered feeling abated, replaced by a dull heaviness.

"…Ah…not really. No."

Jack cocked his head and gave Sonia a strange look. A chime from her guitar saved her; after checking the email, she said, "Luna's gathering everyone back at the lobby. We should at least go give them proof you're okay, right?"

He simply shrugged. Sonia steps were tentative at first, but once she saw Jack follow her lead, her pace picked up just a little. For some reason, she found her thoughts lingering on his last question.

… _Not really. No._

* * *

After regrouping with everyone, Sonia had handed Jack off to Luna and gone back to her dressing room. Now back in her regular clothes, she sat down for a minute to gather her thoughts, keeping a careful eye on the clock.

"Do you think the crew has given up their search for the 'heroes' by now?" Sonia asked.

"Most likely," Lyra said. "Given our trend of quick exits, they must have realized by now that Harp Note and friends are long gone…so to speak."

Sonia leaned back in her chair. "I actually forgot how bad the studio wants to know more about Harp Note. If anything else happens, I need to be sure to stay out of the visible spectrum."

"If it's more trouble with Wizards, we'll probably need to stay visible."

She sighed and started spinning. Catching sight of the flowers Luna had brought her, she smiled, but the expression was brief. As she slowed down, she said, "Even Jack said something…"

Lyra materialized over the desk, listening attentively.

"…Am I really that obvious around Luna?"

With a short delay, the FM-ian said, "To be fair, I already know. Perhaps I can't give the most objective answer."

"I guess that's it," Sonia said, slumping over one of the chair's arms. "I just got an objective answer."

"You're embarrassed?"

"I was. Now, it's…something different."

Lyra waited patiently as Sonia half-heartedly clawed at the armrest.

"…If I'm so obvious about it…why can't I let Luna know? She's still holding back, like she's afraid, and I want her to know she doesn't have to be. I'm trying to let her know…and I'm being so blunt that someone who doesn't even care can tell…but I still haven't convinced Luna."

Sonia sat up and pulled her legs in, wrapping her arms around them.

"I know she has her reasons, and the last thing I want to do is rush her or make her feel uncomfortable. But, I…" She sighed, shuddering a little. "You already know this."

Lyra floated behind Sonia and set both hands on her shoulder. "I'm always here to listen, Sonia. But as I said: I don't know what advice to give you in a situation like this. This is weighing so heavily on you…truly, I think you need to talk with someone who has relevant experience." She hesitated. "…Can I ask why you haven't?"

Sonia shuddered once more. "…I guess I really am embarrassed. Plus, I feel like this is a personal thing for both of us, so it feels like a betrayal to share the details with someone else."

"So long as you're careful who you approach, I doubt there's anything wrong with seeking help."

"Maybe…but…" Sonia stopped and looked up, shuddering again. "…Is it getting colder in here?"

"Pardon?"

Standing up, Sonia said, "It's f-freezing. Is something wrong with the air c-conditioning?"

She walked over to the door and switched off the lock. When she approached it, however, it didn't open. She backed up and tried again, but the result was the same. As she tried to think of what to do next, she felt the cold growing suddenly stronger, and she could see ice forming on the door.

"…L-L-Lyra?" She turned, finding that Lyra was nowhere to be seen.

"I've already contacted the others," the FM-ian replied, her voice coming from the guitar (and sounding just a little frantic). "I'll go inside the system and see if there's anything I can do!"

"Th-Th-Thanks-s." Sonia pulled up her hood and retracted her arms inside her sleeves—she didn't expect it to help much, but any improvement seemed worth it at this point.

She wasn't sure exactly how much time passed before she heard pounding on the other side of the door. "Sonia!" Luna called. "If you can hear me, back away from the door!"

Sonia moved, but found her legs were starting to feel a bit numb, and fell over on her side. She saw an orange flash and felt a burst of heat. Soon after, the door finally slid open, and she saw Taurus there with smoke still pouring from his snout. Luna rushed past him and crouched down next to Sonia.

"Sonia?!" she asked, shaking her. "Sonia, are you okay?"

Somehow, Sonia managed to smile. "Y-Y-Y-Y-Yeah…f-f-f-fine…"

Luna started helping her to her feet, already shivering herself. Geo was soon there to assist, and it wasn't long before the three of them made it out of the freezing room and into the hallway, where thankfully the temperature was unaffected by the strange anomaly. Sonia was gently set against the wall; Amy quickly threw her jacket around her, adding her gloves and headband a few moments later. Gradually, the feeling started to come back to Sonia's body.

"What happened?" Luna asked.

Sonia shook her head. "I was just sitting there when suddenly it started getting colder. Lyra's checking the system now."

When Lyra reappeared, she glanced first at Sonia, and then turned to Taurus. "I'm afraid the controls are frozen over as well."

"Mrrgh," Taurus grunted, facing the door. "Say no more."

As he went to work, Zack said, "Ice in the cyber world? Is that normal?"

"Not normal, really, but it certainly ain't unheard of," Mega said. "Problem is…for a control program to ice over…"

Lyra nodded. "There's no chance of it being an accident."

The statement hung grimly over everyone until Taurus returned. "I've got it clear. The room should be back to normal in a minute or so."

"Thank you all," Sonia said, standing back up.

Reaching for her, Luna said, "Take it easy!"

"I'm fine, really." Removing Amy's gear, she returned it and thanked her again.

"No problem," Amy said, slipping it back on in seconds. "I always put it on without thinking—glad it came in handy!"

Sonia stepped forward and reached one arm through the doorway. Verifying that the room felt normal again, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Are you really okay?" Luna asked.

Sonia turned around to face everyone. "Yeah, but…I think maybe I should rest up a bit before the concert starts. Sorry."

"You still want to do the concert?" Pat asked. "A lot of weird things are happening, so I'm sure everyone would understand if you wanted to cancel it."

"No, I want everyone to have something to look forward to—especially if weird things keep happening. Carrying on like normal should help stop people from getting worried."

Luna stepped forward. "I'll stay with you. You shouldn't be alone in case something happens again, right? And Ophiuca can help Lyra keep an eye on the systems."

"Indeed," Ophiuca said, "I'd be delighted to be of assistance."

Sonia smiled. "Okay. Thanks."

"If things get cold again, just give me a call!" Bud said. "Taurus and I can be here in a jiffy!"

"We'll ask around as well," Zack said, adjusting his glasses. "Whoever's behind this must have left some kind of trail, and I'm sure we'll be able to find it."

"Yeah, Yeti and I can scout around too!" Amy said. "They can't have gotten far!"

The group began to move on, Jack trailing behind everyone else. He glanced back at Sonia for a moment, but she wasn't sure why; before she could ask, he was off. Sonia and Luna went back inside the dressing room, while Lyra and Ophiuca disappeared.

"What a day," Sonia said, sinking back into the swivel chair.

Luna searched around until she found a blanket, which she then draped over Sonia's shoulders, and then sat in an extra chair by the wall. "I can't believe someone would try to freeze you like that! Who would resort to something so terrible?"

With a chuckle, Sonia pushed her chair closer to where Luna was. As she was in transit, she spotted the flowers again, which looked much worse in the wake of the sudden temperature swing. "Oh…"

Luna followed her gaze. "Oh."

"…I'm sorry."

"What? It isn't your fault at all!"

"I know, it's just—"

"Nope! You're not allowed to apologize for this! This was something no one saw coming, and all that's really important is that you weren't hurt!"

"…Okay."

"I'll buy you some new ones as soon as I can."

Sonia pulled the blanket tighter and closed her eyes for a moment. Luna's eyes wandered, soon spotting the picture against the mirror, though she quickly turned away and suppressed a blush. She looked next to Sonia, who didn't move an inch. When Sonia opened her eyes, she found Luna still gazing at her, and smiled. Luna smiled back.

"…I'm really glad you're okay," Luna said softly. "I haven't been that scared since you went to Mu."

Sonia shivered a bit remembering. "It was scary for me, too. It came out of nowhere."

There was a break in the conversation. Luna moved in her seat and gestured. Sonia moved to sit next to her, opening the blanket so Luna could get inside it as well. She set her head on Luna's shoulder.

"It was just for a second," Luna mumbled, "but, I thought…you might actually…"

"Yeah," Sonia muttered. She moved just enough to nudge Luna. "But, hey: I've promised, haven't I? I won't do that to you."

A few seconds later, Luna nudged her back. "You sure like cutting it close, though."

"Huh? Name one time."

"You dawdled on Peace and nearly got lost in space."

"…Okay, but that—"

"Not to mention you blew up Mu while you were still standing on top of it."

"I said _one_ time."

Luna didn't respond, so she tried to think of something else to say. Unfortunately, her thoughts ended up on the mysterious card from earlier, and the way Boreal had acted about it. She tried to distract herself, but it was no use.

"…Hey, Luna."

"Hm?"

"I talked to Mr. Boreal after I fought that Wizard. Judging from what he said…it sounds like something dangerous might be starting again."

Luna turned her head sharply.

"I could be wrong. I just…I don't know, I guess I want to prepare you in case I'm not."

Luna faced forward and stared intently at nothing for a while. "…Well," she finally said, "if there is trouble, then we'll all just need to handle it as well as we can."

Sonia looked up at her. "I don't want to drag you into—"

"Stop right there. We were just talking about how reckless you get when I send you off on your own."

"…Is that what we were talking about?"

Luna fidgeted. "I'm sick of worrying all the time. So, this time…" Facing Sonia, she continued, "This time, I'll fight right alongside you. Whatever you have to face, I'll be there too, doing whatever I can to help. And I'm sure the others will help too. I'll make them."

Sonia blinked. "Luna…"

Blushing, Luna looked the other way. "I-I mean, you _do_ get reckless on your own. So if trouble _is_ starting again, then I won't let you face any of it alone." More quietly, she added, "Never again. I promise."

Sonia gazed at Luna in stunned silence. Before she knew it, tears were forming in her eyes, so she buried her face in Luna's shoulder. "Luna…I…" She trailed off.

Turning back, Luna asked, "Huh? Why are you crying?!"

Grinning up at her, Sonia said, "I'm just…really happy. Thank you, Luna."

After taking a moment to process, Luna moved to wrap her arms around her.

* * *

Notes:

We haven't spent much time on how aware the public is of Harp Note, but I figure by now there's got to be some word of her. Plus, with Sonia working at a TV station, it made sense that she'd take advantage of that situation to help out more people. Poor girl just can't escape the spotlight!

Huh, the lobby scene does feel a bit weird shifting perspectives like that. Still, it'd be kind of a waste to chop the end off and present it as its own separate paragraph…right? I don't want to overdo the number of breaks in one chapter.

There's a lot less of the freezing and Taurus's defrosting going on than in the game, but really, all that running back and forth was only to pad out the game, and it felt like it would be wasting time if I went into it all here. Ice is going to focus on only a few essential opportunities rather than freeze whatever she can get her hands on.

I didn't notice until I played the trilogy all at once, but the endings of all three games share a bit of a formula. Battle, exhaustion, friendship, defeat the thing, hero looks lost, but then it's all okay! And I mean, they're all emotional endings, but the similarity seemed peculiar once I noticed it. Luna seemed like she'd be the one to voice that observation.

Luna's promise is here mainly to let you know I'm thinking I want to have more team battles going forward. And, er, yeah, the wording did end up inspired by a line from a certain other video game. You'll catch it if you know it. If not, don't worry about it.

Hmmmm, still not sure I found the best line to end that chapter. Nothing I could think of felt like a totally perfect fit, but I guess I have to just go with what my gut was feeling when I made my last-minute edit and hope it's good! That's normal when writing, isn't it?

Reading the reviews now, in response to The Unplanner: The group is acting under the assumption that Amy and Yeti don't Wave Change. They've heard Yeti mention that he doesn't want to, and this will be addressed in more detail a little later on in the story. As for the question of Noise, my strategy for leveling that playing field is coming up in just a few days, so sit tight!

Tomorrow we'll tackle our first real boss! Pack your scarf and hat, because Diamond Ice is going to send a chill down your spine!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Sonia tested her guitar one final time. She was more nervous than she had expected, though she wasn't sure if it was due to what had happened earlier that day, or what she dreaded might be coming the next.

The concert was taking place on a stage made completely out of Real Waves by the studio's tech crew. It was a relatively simple design, but it had a clean style to it, and the real draw was that the stage and the area for the audience were both held high in the air by a set of Real Wave pillars. Sonia couldn't help but feel the crew had gotten just a bit carried away putting the stage so high up, but the novelty seemed to impress everyone. She peeked through the curtain: everyone still in the studio had gathered already, and she could spot her friends standing at the very front. Seeing Luna's smile helped calm her nerves considerably.

Lyra materialized as she pulled back. "Are you ready, dear?"

Sonia nodded, doing her best to set her worries aside. "Yep! I'm going to make this a spectacular show!"

Just as she was about to signal for the curtain to rise, she heard the backstage entrance being thrown open. Belle came running in and stopped just a short distance away to catch her breath.

"Belle?" Sonia asked as she walked towards her. "Are you okay?"

"Sonia," she breathed. "I think…there's something wrong. I haven't seen Ice for a few hours now."

"I'm sure she's okay. Let's see if we can get some people together to search for—"

"No," Belle said, "I think she's here!"

"Huh? Why?"

After hesitating a moment, Belle said, "I heard about what happened to the temperature in your room earlier. And, when I tried to leave my room to come here, my door was frozen shut."

"Really?" Sonia said, setting a hand on Belle's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Belle nodded. "I'm fine. It was just the door, and your friend Amy was nearby."

Sonia looked towards the curtain. _Oh, I didn't see her out there, did I?_

"She and her Wizard were able to help me get out. We rushed right here, because I needed to warn you!"

Sonia furrowed her brow. "But, why does that make you think Ice is here?"

Belle bit her lip. "…Earlier…Wizards were going out of control. I haven't seen Ice, and now the temperature control systems are suddenly going haywire, and things are freezing over…"

Sonia suddenly realized what she meant. Her eyes widened. " _Oh_. You think…?"

Before she could even finish her sentence, a chill filled the air.

"Sonia, you…" Belle started. She stopped herself, appearing to rethink what she was saying. "Is there something you can do to stop her?"

Sonia exchanged a look with Lyra. "We still aren't sure this is Ice. Either way, I can probably do something, but it'll take time."

"Please do it!" Belle said. "Please, and if it is Ice…please help her."

Sonia smiled. "I will."

Belle relaxed just a little. "I'll tell the audience there's been a delay. If they need a distraction, I'm sure I can keep them busy."

"Thanks. Hopefully we can stop anyone from getting too worried."

The two of them parted ways, Belle going in front of the curtain while Sonia went out the door she had entered through. Returning to Sonia's guitar, Lyra asked, "Do you think it really could be Ice?"

Sonia Wave Changed quickly and scanned the stage. "Without knowing more about what's making Wizards go crazy, it's hard to say."

"Hm…well, this could be rather cathartic."

Sonia couldn't help but smile. "I'll admit it's tempting, but we do need to _help_ her."

"Oh, that's right. Pity."

"Sonia!" someone called. She looked up to see Geo, Wave Changed, standing on top of the stage. "There's an access point up here!"

She jumped up to where he was, seeing Bud and Luna battle-ready as well. The changes in their appearance were still a bit new to her: the armor around Bud's neck was less bulky and restrictive, and the spikes that he once had on his knees were gone, though he did have red armor on his thighs now and a vertical orange stripe on each shoulder plate. The changes to Geo's appearance were extremely subtle, barring the notable exception that his left arm now ended in a hand rather than Omega-Xis's head. On the rooftop between the three of them the word "ACCESS" was printed in large blue letters.

"Amy told us there was gonna be trouble," Bud said. "Whatever's waiting, we're here to back you up!"

"She does move fast," Sonia said. "Thanks, everyone. Let's roll!"

As they approached the access point, she could hear Belle on the stage. "Everyone! Um, we're having a slight malfunction with the environmental system—sorry. But we've got it under control! Sonia's looking into it personally, so please just give her a little time!"

A murmur rippled through the crowd, but no one seemed particularly upset. In fact, as she moved to enter the system, Sonia thought she felt the temperature rise just a little.

 _I wonder…_

She stepped onto the access point and entered the stage's Cyber Core. Inside, she was shocked to see the Wave Road covered in a layer of ice from the entrance all the way to the control panel at the far end. The panel itself was partially iced over as well, and on its screen could be seen an image of Belle talking to the crowd. More importantly, someone was standing in front of the panel, beating it with one fist.

"What is she doing here?!" Ice shouted. "She should be safe back in her room! How did she get out? I can't take care of this trash with Belle here!"

A smashing noise made them all jump. All eyes turned to Bud, who had stomped through the ice to gain a foothold, and now scratched his head sheepishly as Ice approached him and the others.

"Your timing could be better," the Wizard grumbled, "but I guess the important thing is that you're here. At least I can deal with _you_ without putting Belle at risk!"

Sonia moved forward, slipping along but managing to stay on her feet. "Hang on. Is it really you…Ice?"

Geo whirled to face her. "Belle's manager?"

Ice smirked. "Oh, you know of me? How flattering! But I've been given a new stage name, so please: call me Diamond Ice!"

"I was hoping it wasn't true," Sonia said. "Belle's worried sick! She's been trying to find you, Ice! Why don't we go let her know you're okay?"

Ice floated just off the ground. "No no, this is _my_ show, Harp Note. You'll be following my direction."

"You're annoying," Luna said. "Just tell us what you're doing already."

"Hmph. I thought it was obvious, but I'm trying to freeze out that unbearable Sonia Strumm, along with all these morons who took her side. I was hoping to get rid of her earlier, but doing it this way is much better, actually. I was trying to find a way to lure you all out of hiding, and here you are! Now I just need to take care of you, get Belle to safety, and then I can finish clearing this place out!"

"Yeesh," Mega said, "she seemed nuts before, but she really took it up a few notches."

Ice scowled. Raising both arms, she summoned two giant chunks of ice to float on either side of her. "If that's how you feel, I'll cut your part first!"

With a wave of her arm, one of the ice blocks went spinning towards Geo. He raised his shield, but the attack rammed into him with enough force to send him sliding backwards; a snowflake-shaped object appeared along his path and released a blast of cold air, freezing him solid.

"Mega Man!" Sonia shouted. "Ice, stop it! Why are you doing this?"

Ice shook her head. "You really are slow on the uptake. It isn't complicated! You all got in Belle's way, so I'm removing you!"

The first block of ice returned to her side while the other headed towards Sonia. From where he stood, Bud was able to punch it before it reached her, causing it to shatter into a dozen pieces. As he turned towards Ice, however, he realized she was no longer there, and instead sensed something behind him. Using the skates on her feet, Ice had quickly outmaneuvered him, and now jumped and kicked at Bud's back. The blades left a shallow cut, but Bud recovered quickly and swung his arm in a wide arc. Unfortunately, Ice was too quick.

"Back off!" Luna shouted, throwing a few snakes at the oncoming Ice.

Swerving around the reptiles was no trouble for Ice, but it did lead her right into Sonia's strings. Sonia tried her best to keep Ice in place, but it was difficult without proper footing, and soon enough a newly-reformed ice block came charging at her. Releasing her hold, Sonia kept sliding to avoid getting flattened. Luna tried to recall the snakes she had thrown, but to her surprise, they had curled up and were starting to fade away.

"You really think this is what Belle wants?" Sonia asked. She eyed Geo—cracks were starting to appear along his icy prison. "There's no way she'd think this is right!"

Ice spun to a stop, commanding her ice blocks to chase after Sonia and Luna. "I know she'd never condone this. That's precisely why I have to do it! It's my duty as her manager to guide her to the top, and cutting down any opposition is the quickest way to achieve that!"

Sonia summoned a speaker to use as a foothold, flipping high above it. When the block passed the speaker, strings shot out from its face and grabbed the chunk of ice, and Sonia landed on top of the box to give it some extra weight.

"Bud!" she shouted.

Bud punched the block from the side, a little gentler this time, and Sonia tightened the strings at the same time. Using the speaker as a point of rotation, the block was swung around in a circle, arcing straight back towards Diamond Ice. The Wizard skated clear and immediately looked to Luna, who sure enough had more snakes ready; she drove her back with another gust of wind, and the snakes vanished instantly.

"Hah!" Ice laughed. "It'll take more than that to—"

Geo popped into existence right in front of her.

"—hit me?"

In a flash, Geo's left hand transformed into a lance that crackled with electricity. He jabbed, managing to catch Ice off-guard, and landed a clean hit that knocked her down and gave her a mild shock as well. Geo teleported over to where Sonia was before she could get up.

"Nice hit," Sonia complimented. "Luna, are you okay?"

Luckily, the other girl had avoided being frozen, but she moved rather stiffly as she regrouped with them. "Yeah…but there's something strange with my snakes. They're not lasting as long as they usually do."

Sonia hummed, keeping a close eye on Ice as she floated up once more. "Maybe hang back for a second. Bud, you okay with taking the lead for now?"

Bashing his fists together, Bud said, "Sure thing! I know just how to deal with this frozen floor gimmick!"

Jumping in front of the others, Bud leaned forward and shot a wide swath of flames from his mouth. The ice before him melted away to leave a path of solid Wave Road, and he barreled towards Ice with his horns out.

Ice smiled and summoned two snowflakes. "Idiot. What are you running through right now?"

Bud didn't look down, but when he noticed the splashing sound that accompanied his footfalls, he began to realize his mistake. When the icy wind was unleashed, the water left on the Wave Road froze back over in an instant, only now the ice had formed around Bud's feet and locked him in place. He wobbled a bit, but the ice held strong enough that he didn't fall over.

Ice laughed. "One lucky shot is all you're going to get! I'll make sure of it!"

She raised her hand. A weapon made of ice started to form, at first looking like a staff that grew until it was roughly four times long as Ice was tall. When it finally stopped, a hammer head formed on its end, one that was even larger than Bud was.

"Uh-oh," Sonia said, raising her guitar.

To her surprise, Geo grabbed her arm. "No, he's got this. Can you give me a push?"

"What?"

"I know what Bud's going to do, and I have a plan!"

Ice floated higher into the air as she reared back with the deadly hammer. Looking unconcerned, Bud pulled back his fist.

Hesitantly, Sonia grabbed Geo by the shoulder. "Alright…"

She shoved him just as Ice swung the hammer overhead. At the same time, Bud punched, the jet of flame that spouted from his gauntlet intensifying as he did so, and his fist actually detached from his arm and rocketed straight towards Ice like a fiery missile. Already in mid-swing, there was nothing the Wizard could do to avoid being clobbered, and her hammer slipped out of her grip and just narrowly missed Bud. While she was reeling, Geo continued to slide forward, teleporting a short distance ahead as his momentum increased; Ice bounced off one of her ice blocks and tried to get steady, but Geo teleported again to get right in front of her. His left arm transformed into a glass bulb filled with electricity, and he swung it at her with all the momentum he had built up. The electrified haymaker sent Ice spiraling through the air.

"…Wow," Sonia said. "Couple questions, but I should probably save those for later."

Bud's fist had regenerated by now, so he began punching away the ice that held him. Geo rolled a bit before getting to his feet, and as he continued to slide he called, "She's not out yet!"

Springing to her feet, Ice yelled in frustration. "You obnoxious freaks! Fine, struggle all you want! It'll just make it more satisfying when you finally stop moving!"

"Cut it out already!" Sonia shouted back. "You already know this isn't what Belle wants! I don't understand why you're going through with it anyway!"

"I'm not going to repeat myself again!"

"What? You mean that thing about this being the best way to get Belle to the top? Is that really worth doing something this terrible?"

"Of course! The sole reason I was created was to be Belle's Manager—of course I'm going to do everything I can to be the best I can be!"

Sonia sighed. "…Ice, being a good Manager doesn't mean you have to take down everyone you think is standing in her way!"

"Shut up! She deserves to be at the top! I wasn't so fixated on it at first, but…" Ice shook her head. "Oh, what does it matter?"

As she raised her arms, Sonia said, "No, tell me!" She relaxed her stance to look as calm as she could. "Please, Ice, help me understand what you're doing."

Ice didn't lower her arms. "…Belle's…really a wonderful person. She's always nice to everyone, and she keeps helping others out without asking for anything, and she never makes a big deal out of being a star. The more I worked with her, the more I came to really care about her."

She paused for a moment, and then glared at Sonia.

"She wants to make as many people happy as she can. And once she reaches the top, she can do that for everyone! So I'm going to get her there so her wish can come true!"

Four blocks of ice appeared around Ice, and each went spinning after someone different. At the same time, she created a trio of snowflakes before herself, unleashing an enormous gust of cold wind upon the area. Bud punched the ground—pillars of flame erupted to melt away the ice blocks. Ice was on the move, so Geo rapidly fired his buster in an attempt to hit her.

"She really does think this will make Belle happy," Lyra mused. "She truly has lost her mind."

Sonia adjusted her guitar for quick blasts, saying, "Maybe not. That Wizard earlier had no idea what he was doing, so maybe something similar is affecting her judgment."

"Hm. Either way, we'll need to stop her to get through to her."

Sonia flicked the second knob on her guitar. "I know."

She played, and numerous musical notes made of energy appeared around her. Rather than fly at their target, however, they hung in the air, not budging an inch. Geo was still chasing their foe around with his bullets, but now she was headed in his direction. Hoping to contribute, Luna fired a blast of her eyebeams, and though she wasn't able to get a hit, she did force Ice into a very narrow path between the two attacks coming at her. Sonia spun the knob in the opposite direction, and the notes all immediately shot out to batter Ice. The Wizard fell and tumbled forward. She tried to rise, but Bud hit her with a flame blast to keep her from regaining her balance.

"This won't make Belle happy," Sonia said as Ice ground to a halt. "Why do you think she came to stop this? And you knew she would, or else you wouldn't have frozen her door. Right?"

Ice eyed them all. Sonia wasn't sure if she was listening.

"Ice!"

Baring her teeth, Ice replied, "It'll hurt now, but she'll be happy later! She will! This is all for the sake of her wish. Wouldn't you be willing to do anything for someone you cared about?"

Sonia clenched her fists. "The people I care about would never want me to do something like this! Neither does Belle! If you hurt these people—if Belle realizes that you hurt innocent people for her sake—it'll destroy her!"

Ice looked down. Slowly sitting up, she muttered, "She…I know she'd never want to hurt anyone, but…would this really…hurt her…?"

Suddenly, her head jerked violently to the side. A soft, garbled hissing sound could be heard, and appearing around Ice's head were several green static-like distortions that flickered constantly. She grabbed her head and groaned.

"What's happening?" Geo asked, cautiously raising his buster.

Ice floated up. When she glared at them again, they saw that her once-blue eyes had turned red. "I'll delete you all for getting in her way!"

Another blast of wind smacked into all of them, freezing Bud entirely. Luna tried her eyebeams again, but without being able to see Ice she only hit random points. Geo was able to teleport behind Ice, raising a Wide Sword as he did, but Ice spun and kicked one skate into his face before he could attack, and then started to form another hammer as he hit the ground.

Sonia wrapped strings around the hammer's head, shouting, "Ice! Think about what Belle really wants!"

Ice turned and snarled at her. She swung the hammer, pulling Sonia into the air and smashing her down into the icy Wave Road with a loud crack.

"Harp Note!" Luna cried. She tried to rush at Ice, but her body didn't respond the way she wanted it to. "Darn it! What's happening?"

"I believe I may have figured it out," Ophiuca said. "It's affecting us first, but if I am correct, it is about to begin taking its toll on the others as well. The ice on the ground…it's more dangerous than any of us realized."

Luna looked down. As far as she could tell, it was just normal ice—cyber ice, granted, but it didn't look special at all. Spotting her hand, she realized it was shaking.

"It's generating cold. _Real_ cold. I cannot be certain if this is one of Diamond Ice's abilities, or a side-effect of us being made of Real Waves now, but regardless, this cold is slowly wearing all of us down. No wonder our snakes didn't last long."

As Luna looked around, she noticed that Sonia and Geo were shaking as they got to their feet. Bud had managed to free himself, but rather than attacking, he had stopped to breathe a small puff of flame around his hands.

"Oh no," Luna whispered. "Then…we're really not of much use in this fight, are we?"

"I wouldn't despair quite yet, darling. Take a look at where the Gorgon Eye blasts struck."

Trying to remember where she had aimed her eyebeams, Luna scanned the surface of the ice until she found something peculiar. What she saw wasn't ice, or even the Wave Road, but a small patch of stone. Looking around, she saw a few more scattered about, and started to get an idea of what Ophiuca had in mind.

"Mega Man, Harp Note!" she called, getting them to face her. She beckoned, and then slithered towards Bud as fast as she could.

Across the Wave Road, Mega grumbled, "If she's gonna yell at us at a time like this…"

"I'm more inclined to think she has a plan, actually," Lyra said. "The real question is how to get past our good friend Ice."

Ice summoned two new ice blocks. Geo aimed his buster and said, "Sonia, wait ten seconds, alright?"

Sonia nodded. As Ice prepared to launch an attack, Geo shot one of the blocks, and when the energy bullet impacted it released a shockwave that radiated over the nearby area. Ice recoiled. Geo teleported in Luna's direction, meanwhile Sonia grabbed a block with her strings and pulled herself forward, sliding straight past Ice and towards her friends.

"What's up?" Sonia asked as she came to a halt.

Luna began to fire more blasts. "Everyone pay attention! We're going to have to finish this quickly!"

"Uh, Prez, where are you aiming?" Bud asked.

"This is important! I think it's a result of the Hunter's streamlining, but look: my Gorgon Eye can create stone now!"

The others turned. Brightening up, Geo said, "Oh, I get it! Those footholds can help us get across the ice more reliably!"

"This is all I can do, though, so you'd better make good use of it, and fast!"

Sonia eyed Ice. The Wizard was still recovering, and more of the odd static was surrounding her. "…It might not take much more. I could probably win this with a sound pulse, but even with these footholds it'll be difficult to get close enough. Maybe if we lead her towards one of my speakers…"

"Give it to us," Mega said. "With the Mega Attack, we can get it right in her face."

"That's great thinking," Geo said, "but she'll still see us coming. We need a distraction."

He instantly turned to Bud. Chuckling, the larger boy stomped forward and said, "Okay, Taurus! Time to quit holding back!"

"Mrrrgh! You got it, Bud!"

Ice shook her head. Seemingly focused once more, she turned and saw her four targets gathered in one place and began to create more snowflakes. "Just die already! Can't you see it's over for you?"

"Over?" Bud repeated. "Hah! I'm just getting warmed up!"

He clenched his fists and squatted, giving a long grunt. Ice aimed the snowflakes and willed them to fire. Freezing wind rushed at them, but the flames on Bud's gauntlets started to grow larger, and instead of feeling cold, the others all felt much, much warmer. Irritated, Ice formed another hammer and got just close enough to swing it. As she was raising it, Bud's armor started to glow redder than usual, and when she brought it down, he threw an uppercut to meet it. The head of the hammer shattered instantly.

"Now we're burning red-hot!" Bud roared. "See if you can handle this, Ice!"

Bud ran forward in a burst of speed, the ice turning to steam underneath his feet. Ice skated away to put some distance between them. Rearing back, Bud unleashed a massive blast of fire; he missed, but the heat was enough that Ice faltered, giving him the chance to charge closer still.

"We'll leave it to him," Sonia said. Turning to Geo, she summoned one of her speakers and put it in his hands. "When you see a chance, jump towards her—I'll wait to use the pulse until you're right on top of her."

Geo nodded and watched Ice closely. Sonia turned to Luna, who was still shaking but smiled at her anyway.

Bud plowed through a group of ice blocks and fired off a rocket punch at Ice. She did her best to evade, but she skated right through a wall of flames, and closed her eyes as she did. Seeing his chance, Geo teleported, hopping from one stepping stone to the next, and Sonia dialed her guitar to its most powerful setting. Ice opened her eyes just as Geo appeared next to her and held the speaker forward. Sonia brought her hand down on her guitar, and a massive blast of sound exploded out of the speaker and blew Ice away.

"Yes!" Luna shouted. "That should show her!"

The recoil sent Geo spinning, but he teleported closer to the ground so he didn't hit it as hard. They all watched as Ice landed in a heap next to the control panel. At first they moved closer, but suddenly, they all stopped at once. No one said anything, but each of them felt totally numb for just a few seconds.

"No…" Ice hissed, pushing herself up off the Wave Road. "No…delete them…clear the way…for…"

She looked up, spotting Belle's image on the control panel, and froze.

"…She looks…so unhappy…"

Ice hung her head. Her body started to spasm, and more of the odd distortions surrounded her. She shrieked, and then green energy exploded out of her body, drifting a short distance away before coming to a stop. When it cleared, Ice could be seen—unconscious, but back to her normal appearance.

"Even with all that messing with her head, taking a good look at Belle helped her finally realize the truth," Sonia mumbled.

"Great, but…what is it?" Bud asked.

Before he could get an answer, the static began to move. The great cloud seemed to condense into several smaller bundles, and as they shrunk smaller and smaller, their color shifted to a deep shade of red. Where there had once been a sea of green static, there was now about a dozen balls of red light. Seconds later, they all shot off into the distance, disappearing from view almost instantly.

"The heck was that about?" Mega asked.

Ice moaned, reminding everyone she was still there. They rushed to her side and made sure she wasn't in danger of getting deleted if they moved her. As they did, Sonia noticed another card lying on the ground, this one bearing the image of a diamond, and discreetly pocketed it. Once they were sure Ice was stable, Sonia gently picked her up and carried her to the exit.

"Taurus I will stay and defrost this place," Bud said. "Tell Amy we'll be out in a few!"

The rest of them exited the core, arriving back on the roof of the stage. Sonia quickly ducked behind it—Ice's programming automatically adjusted her to the visible spectrum upon leaving the Cyber Core, so Sonia needed to do the same to avoid dropping her, and she didn't want to risk any of the audience seeing her if she didn't have to. Luna and Geo followed and cancelled their Wave Changes, exchanging a silent nod with her before heading back around towards their seats.

 _I'd have to set Ice down to cancel my Wave Change…I should probably just talk to Belle as Harp Note._

Lyra materialized just long enough to open the backstage door, and Sonia carried Ice inside. Belle came back through the curtain soon after. When she saw Sonia holding Ice, she stopped and covered her mouth with her hands.

"She'll be alright," Sonia said. "I, uh, was in the area and heard there was more trouble, so I came to check things out."

"I-I see," Belle mumbled. "…Um…was she responsible for…?"

Sonia hesitated. "She seemed to be under the same effects as the out of control Wizards earlier. In all honestly, I don't totally understand it, but I do think it affected her judgment. We'll have to ask her when she wakes up to be sure."

Belle clenched her hands together over her chest. "I'm sorry Ice caused so much trouble. If I hadn't left her alone earlier, then maybe this wouldn't have happened to her."

Sonia smiled. "Don't be so hard on yourself, Belle. In the end, no one got hurt—no one out there even knows Ice was messing with the system. Things will be okay."

Belle's entire body relaxed. "Hah…thanks, Sonia."

It was so casual she almost missed it, but a few seconds later, Sonia and Belle's faces both went blank.

"…Oh," Belle said.

Sonia gulped. "…So, uh…I guess you figured me out, h-huh?"

Belle averted her eyes. "Well, it's just…every time we heard about trouble, you'd excuse yourself and then Harp Note would appear on site. You fight with a guitar. Your Wizard _is_ a harp. Things just sort of fell into place."

"Seems we need to invest in a bit more subtlety," Lyra said.

Sonia chuckled nervously. "…Does anyone else…?"

Belle shook her head. "N-No, I haven't told anyone, and I don't think anyone else has put it together yet either! Your secret's safe with me!"

"Thanks."

Belle drew her Hunter and clicked a button, and Ice disappeared back inside the device. With no reason not to, Sonia cancelled her Wave Change, and she let out a deep sigh.

"I'd better get on with the concert," Sonia said. "Thanks for keeping everyone calm while I was gone!"

"No problem. It's nothing compared to what you did for Ice. I'll be sure to let you know when she wakes up—I'm sure you want to know more about what happened as well."

"Whenever she's ready."

With that, Belle headed out the backstage exit, and Sonia faced the curtain once more.

Despite the delay, the concert was a big success. Afterwards the crew all went their separate ways, most heading for either the parking lot or the Wave Liner stop, though a few went to finish up some remaining business. Sonia regrouped with her friends right away, and they congratulated her on the performance. Jack didn't seem particularly impressed, though that didn't surprise her; he said he had to get going, so after Luna scolded him one last time for going off on his own earlier, he took his leave.

"You must be exhausted," Amy said.

"I've been in worse shape," Sonia said. "Oh, before I forget: thanks for helping Belle out earlier! There would've been real trouble if she hadn't been there to make Ice stop what she was doing."

"Sure! I figured whoever was messing with the system wouldn't stop just because the concert started, so I wanted to take at least one look around. Of course, it was you all who did the heavy lifting."

Bud raised one fist triumphantly. "Hah, she never stood a chance against us! After training so hard and getting enhanced by the Hunter, we're stronger than ever before!"

"That red-hot state was actually rather impressive," Luna said. "I've been wondering, though: why didn't you do that in the first place?"

"You can't give away all your tricks right at the start, you know. It's important to get a feel for what the enemy can do, and save your strength until you've got a plan together."

"Huh," Pat said. "That's really logical of you, Bud."

Geo chuckled. "He just can't do it for very long yet."

Bud cringed. "G-Geo! Not cool!"

Amy laughed, grabbing onto Bud's arm. "Whatever the reason, it's awesome you've got this new power. You'll have to show me some time!"

"Oh! D-Definitely!"

Zack turned to Sonia, asking, "Did you figure out anything new about what's affecting the Wizards?"

"Not really," Sonia said, shaking her head. She drew the Diamond card out of her pocket. "But I found this when we beat Ice. It's just like the one I was telling you was around when I beat that other Wizard—except that one had a sword on it. I don't know exactly how it works, but it's got to be responsible for the corruption."

The air over the group began to take on a solemn quality. Giving a shrug, Sonia put the card away and smiled.

"But, Mr. Boreal said he'll explain it to us, so let's not worry about it just yet."

Something caught her eye. Turning, she saw Belle approaching them, with Ice floating just behind her. The Wizard's expression was unfriendly as ever, but this time it looked more like one of shame than malice.

"Sorry to interrupt," Belle said. "Ice just woke up, so I figured…"

Hesitantly, Ice came forward, eyes fixed on the ground. "…Um…Sonia. About what happened to the stage…and in your dressing room, too…that…that was me."

Sonia waited for her to continue.

"I'm sorry. It was a terrible thing to do, and I really regret it."

"Why would you go that far, Ice?" Belle asked. "You could have seriously hurt somebody!"

Ice poked at her clipboard. "I just wanted to help you get ahead, Belle. I thought the quickest way to do that was to get rid of anyone in your way."

"Ice…"

"I don't know what came over me. Ordinarily I'd never go _that_ far, but something…"

She shook her head. Sonia asked, "Belle, when was the last time you saw Ice before this started?"

"In the lobby, when everyone decided to go look for Harp Note. I…got kind of angry with her, and then I left."

Sonia turned to Ice. "What happened after that?"

Ice paused to think. "Someone walked up to me. It looked like a boy, but he had black armor that looked more like a Wizard. I don't know who he was, but…I was frustrated, so I just started talking. He threw something at me, and then…" She shook her head. "Things get fuzzy. I remember thinking I could help Belle by taking out her competition, and I mostly remember fighting Harp Note and her friends. But the details aren't there."

Sonia nodded. She took a deep breath, and then said, "It sounds like you weren't really in control of yourself after what that guy did to you. If that's the case, then I don't really want to hold a grudge."

"Th…thank you. Again, I'm very sorry for the trouble I've caused. It won't happen again."

Ice turned around, but Belle got in front of her. "Hang on. Influenced or not, we really need to talk about your ideas about competition."

Looking up at her, Ice said, "I'm not going to do anything crazy again."

"I believe you. But we still need to talk. You're always putting down anyone you see as my rival, or trying to push people into doing something that they don't want to do. You keep telling me I shouldn't be friends with Sonia because we're both trying to do the same thing. If someone tries to influence you again, and you still think that…well, I think we really need to deal with it _now_."

Ice started to regain some of her usual energy, saying, "Well…it _is_ a competition! I've studied the industry thoroughly, and if you want to get to the top, you need to outdo everyone else. I'm trying to get you in a mindset to take on those challenges!"

"Ice, I never said I wanted to be at the top. I don't care about being better than anyone else—I just want to do the best that _I_ can do!"

"But you could reach so many more people at the top! I love that you want to help people, and the higher up you are the more of that you can do! I want to give you the chance to do everything you want, Belle. That's why I'm so focused on this!"

Belle smiled. "Ice…it's true I want to help anyone I can. But if we go out of our way to hurt people for our own sake, or try to push them out of a place where _they_ can help people, then we're not really helping anyone. I'm all for looking for more opportunities to help people, but that doesn't mean taking those opportunities away from others."

Ice clutched her clipboard tightly. "…I just…thought it would make you happy…"

Belle reached out and took Ice's hand. "I'm happy where I am. I'm doing what I love, I'm helping plenty of people, and I've got great friends, too. It's enough."

Ice's body shook. "I'm sorry, Belle. I got carried away. I guess, in the end, I'm not fit to be your Manager after all."

Belle pulled gently on Ice's hand. "Hey! That's not true!"

"Huh?"

"No one cares about me as much as you do, Ice. Having you for support is a big part of why I'm happy where I am. I don't want you to get carried away, of course, but…I'd be lost without you."

"…Belle…"

Belle giggled. "So, if you don't mind, Ice…please keep being my Manager."

After a second's delay, Ice moved forward and hugged Belle, sobbing into her shoulder. "Of course, Belle! I'd love to!"

Watching them, Sonia couldn't help but smile, and found herself glancing at Luna. Tentatively, she reached out and brushed Luna's fingers. Luna slowly took her hand in hers.

After Belle and Ice said their goodbyes, the group made their way inside the studio and towards the lobby. "Thanks for coming, everyone," Sonia said. "Even if it didn't all go smoothly, it was great to see you. Hopefully it won't be too long until next time."

Just as she was about to part ways with them, she noticed someone standing in the lobby and grew still. Next to the reception desk was a young man with straight, dark blue hair, wearing a white Satella Police uniform with red-lensed glasses clipped to the neck. He hadn't noticed them yet, and was busy eating some sort of candy bar. She remembered that Boreal had said he would send an officer, but she hadn't been expecting he'd send this one.

Noticing them, the man smiled and waved to her. "Hey there! How's everyone doing?"

"Ace?" Geo said. "What're you doing here?"

"The Chief told me there was some trouble. I knew you'd have it under control, but he wanted me to help transport some sensitive evidence, plus extend an invitation."

Mega materialized next to Geo, grumbling, "If you're here, then that means…"

Another Wizard appeared next to Ace. His general shape had some similarity to Mega's, but he had a much sleeker look, being made completely out of what looked like white and gray metal. With his narrow, featureless face, it was impossible to tell what he was thinking as he hovered a few steps forward.

"Greetings, Omega-Xis," the Wizard stated in an even, robotic tone. "I have been informed that you were involved in the effort to suppress the erratic Wizards. We would like to thank you for your efforts."

Mega turned and crossed his arms. "Yeah, yeah, keep your thanks, pal. I don't need no medals for trashing a few nutty programs!"

"Very well."

"Is this the one you mentioned before?" Ophiuca quietly asked.

"Indeed," Lyra replied. "That's Acid, Mega's new brother. Isn't it adorable to watch?"

"Hey!" Mega snapped. "I heard that, stringy!"

Trying to cut off the argument before it broke out, Sonia said, "Ace, you said something about an invitation?"

Ace smiled brightly. "That's right! Chief Boreal wants to brief you on what we're up against, and he's ready when you are. Anyone who wants to come along is welcome!"

Sonia nodded. "Okay. I'll just go grab the card from earlier, and I'll be right back."

She headed down the hallway, and Luna followed. "If Acid is the Wizard you were talking about, then this Ace guy is Transcode 001, right?"

"Huh?" Sonia muttered. "Oh, yeah. Sorry, I'll introduce you properly on the way to WAZA HQ."

Luna tilted her head. "…You seem a little off."

Sonia stopped in front of the door to her dressing room, thinking for a moment. "Sorry. Ace and I just don't really…" She fumbled in search of the rest of that sentence, but it was nowhere to be found.

As she opened the door, Luna said, "I see. That's kind of strange: you're awfully agreeable unless someone goes out of their way to antagonize you. Did he do something?"

"No," Sonia said as she retrieved the card. "I don't really know what it is. But, it doesn't really matter. He's someone I'm working with right now, so I'm sure we'll get along well enough. Did you want to come with us, or are you heading home?"

"I'll come with you. I'm pretty curious after seeing what happened to Ice."

Sonia nodded and locked the door to her room. The two of them headed back towards the lobby, but she didn't say another word.

* * *

Notes:

You all know what today is: the 30th anniversary of the Mega Man franchise! And this year we actually have something to celebrate! I'm hoping I get the chance to pick up Mega Man 11 when it comes out, I've never been good at the Classic games but I really want to give it a shot.

Plus, there's that one screenshot from MM11 that shows Mega Man in a form that looks suspiciously similar to Geo. Complete with having Omega-Xis for a hand. I need to know more about that.

But anyway, on to the chapter. I did sort of skimp on the description of Geo's new look, but I'm guessing you all know what it looks like. Updating Taurus Fire was tricky—the Hunter's said to streamline, but this is a character who specifically needs to look bulky. It's just a few minor things here and there, but I'm hoping it balances the design well.

I can't guarantee that all the boss fights will utilize their stage gimmick (I don't know where to even begin with the card-flipping mechanic from the Dealer base), but the icy floor seemed like an easy addition to counteract the advantage of having four heroes on the field. One way or another, I'll definitely be trying to keep things interesting.

Right, so we get to see some more new abilities here! Sonia's speakers can now transmit sound pulses and strings in addition to the standard notes, and she can also set her notes on delay to wait for an opening. Geo's main addition is the new set of Battle Cards, but I did decide it would be beneficial to upgrade the Mega Attack: rather than only letting him jump in front of the enemy and then sending him right back where he was a second later, he now can execute a short-range teleport in any direction and stays there. I'm wondering if I should rename it…Mega Jump? Mega Step? I guess that's not really important. We've also got Luna's upgraded Gorgon Eye, which will grow more useful as time goes on, plus some other moves she'll show off in the next boss fight. And of course, there's Taurus Fire! The red-hot state is my take on his berserker mode from SF3, but after that I realized he didn't have any other moves to draw from. But since he's kind of the of Star Force, I thought it fitting to give him a Rocket Guts Punch as a bonus. Who doesn't love rocket punches?

That more or less wraps up this scenario. Tomorrow we head to WAZA for a full briefing, plus a little flashback you just might find interesting.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

He didn't know how long he had been marveling at the Wave Roads, but it still felt like he hadn't fully appreciated this glimpse into the unseen world all around them. To think that these vibrant paths had always existed just above people as they went about their lives unaware, that programs walked around looking for ways to pass their time, that EM waves shone so beautifully—it was almost unfair that people couldn't normally see them, he thought.

His train of thought was cut short as a virus appeared on the Road above him. By habit, he reached for some Battle Cards and turned to the Virus Busting interface on his Transer, but then he stopped. Looking back up, he watched the virus (a single Mettenna) plod forward a few slow steps and raise its pickaxe. Before it could swing, he swiped a Cannon. The turret-like weapon popped into existence just in front of the Mettenna, blasting it back while its guard was down. The virus was stunned by the sudden attack. Quickly swiping another Cannon, he deleted the virus, and then laughed as he closed up his Transer.

"Busting is way easier when you can read the viruses' moves, compared to dots on a screen," he muttered. "These things have more potential than I thought." Somewhat reluctantly, he removed the special eyewear he had invented—the Visualizer—and turned it over in his hands.

"Having fun, Kelvin?"

He fumbled with the glasses, steadying his grip just before they slipped free. Setting them on the console gently, he turned to see a woman approaching: her hair was a dark shade of purple, pulled into a loop that hung over her right shoulder and with a horseshoe-shaped gold clip holding back her bangs. Beneath her lab coat she wore a simple white shirt and black pants. She stopped at the edge of the console and smiled, waiting for his answer.

Kelvin leaned back in his chair and sighed. "Rosa? I thought you were taking a few days off."

She sluggishly waved her Transer arm. "I forgot a few documents I wanted to skim tonight and figured I'd better come download them before I get too relaxed."

"What about your daughter?"

"Sonia's in the lobby; Aaron's watching her until I get back. So?" She gestured to the Visualizer. "What's this new gadget of yours exactly?"

Kelvin ran a hand through his hair. "I was gonna wait until you got back, but…" He picked up the glasses. "I call it the Visualizer. It detects any EM waves in range and depicts them on the lens within the visible spectrum. I actually made some for you and Aaron, too."

Reaching into the pocket of his lab coat, he fished out another Visualizer, though unlike the blue-green one he held, this one was pink. He offered it to Rosa, who slipped them on and glanced up.

"Wow," she murmured. "This is…pretty incredible, actually."

Kelvin grinned. "Heh, thanks! I figure these'll make it a lot easier for us to talk to the Admins. We'll be able to actually see them now, without them needing to be on a screen!"

Rosa stared at the Roads silently for a moment. Looking back down and removing the glasses, she asked, "Is that all you had in mind?"

Kelvin's grin gradually faded. "Well…there are other uses, of course. Just now I was seeing how they assist in Virus Busting, and I think that's an avenue we can really explore."

Rosa clipped the Visualizer to the neck of her shirt. "…You're going, aren't you?"

Kelvin stared at the wall for a few seconds. Ultimately, he sighed, hunched over the console, and said, "Can't fool you, huh? You know me a little too well."

"Well, to be fair," Rosa said, pointing.

Looking, Kelvin realized he had an image of Planet FM displayed on his computer screen. He hastily shut the window.

"This is a bad idea."

"And that's why I didn't bring it up."

"I'm being serious, Kelvin. If you try to approach Planet FM to negotiate, all they're going to do is kill you."

Kelvin faced her and crossed his arms, saying, "We won't know until we try."

Rosa's expression began to darken. Pointing up, she said, "Actually, we _do_ know. All Planet AM did was ask them to play nice, and Planet FM annihilated them. You're going to be repeating that exact same mistake."

He spun in place. "…If we don't at least try to pursue a peaceful solution first…if we just go straight to war, then aren't we just as bad as we've been told they are?"

Rosa circled around to look him in the eye. "No, it's…" She stopped, thinking more about what she wanted to say. "…I can see where you're coming from. This sort of thing could lead to a very slippery slope, I'll easily grant you that. But we're talking about one very specific situation, not debating a broader philosophy. The Admins' plan is just to defend this planet in case Planet FM comes across the galaxy to smash us to bits—which they _very_ possibly might decide to—not charge over to their house guns blazing. We're not taking aim. We aren't even making a show of shoring up our defenses, we're just quietly making arrangements for a worst-case scenario, and then waiting and watching. We aren't taunting them. But if you go to open a dialogue with them, Kelvin, everything we know about them says they're going to take it as a taunt."

"But there's a chance they could listen this time!" Kelvin argued. "A small one, definitely, but there _is_ a chance! I can't just not take that chance."

"That chance is _infinitesimal_. And even if by some miracle they don't shoot you on sight, how much do you think it'll really accomplish? A culture—an entire _planet_ that has revolved around war for so long cannot possibly change overnight. Even if, and I cannot stress enough the size of that 'if', they actually listen to you, it would take years at best for Planet FM to actually, properly reform."

"It would be a start."

Rosa turned and covered her face with her hands. When she turned back, she leaned over, locked eyes with him, and started, "Kelvin Stelar, you listen to me, if you think—"

The door to the lab was flung open suddenly, causing her to back up. In ran a small girl with red hair dressed in pink, who bounded straight towards Rosa and tackled her leg.

"There you are, Mama!"

"Sonia? What are you doing here, I told you to stay with…"

Boreal came through the door then, stopping to catch his breath. "Rosa…I'm sorry…she got away from me…"

Kelvin couldn't help but grin. "Getting out of shape there, old man?"

Grinning back, Boreal said, "If I'm old, that puts you in the same boat, Kelvin."

Rosa wagged her finger. "Sonia, I told you to stay with Mr. Boreal! Why didn't you do that?"

Smiling up at her, Sonia said, "You were taking so long! I got tired of waiting, so I came to find you."

With a sigh, Rosa said, "That's no reason to run off on your own like that. You could've gotten lost, or hurt!"

"But I didn't!"

"Sonia, you're supposed to listen when your mother tells you to do something."

"But it's fine now. Nothing bad happened, so it isn't a problem."

Kelvin laughed. "Seems she's as stubborn as you are, Rosa."

Turning to him, Rosa said, "Kelvin, one day your son is going to be just like you and you're going to come to regret taking joy in this, and I promise you, I will take _immense_ joy in that."

"Sure, that's fair," Kelvin said with a shrug.

Finally recovered, Boreal walked over and said, "Sonia, let's head back. I'm sure your mom has some important stuff she needs to get done."

"I won't get in the way!" Sonia said, clutching Rosa's leg. "Please, Mama, can I stay with you?"

Rosa ground her teeth as she sorted through her thoughts. Closing her eyes, she set a hand on top of Sonia's head and sighed, "What am I going to do with you…" She smiled a little and picked her daughter up, hugging her tightly for a few seconds and then moving to carrying her more loosely on her arm.

"Sorry again, Rosa," Boreal said.

"No, I got what I needed anyway. I just spotted Kelvin and…turns out we had something to discuss. And while that discussion isn't over—" She paused to narrow her eyes at Kelvin. "—I did tell Sonia I wouldn't dawdle. So, I guess I'm the one who should apologize."

Reaching out to hug her mother again, Sonia said, "It's okay, Mama! I forgive you!"

Rosa laughed, pressing her forehead against Sonia's. "Well that is a _huge_ relief! I'm blessed to have such an understanding daughter."

As they pulled away, Sonia grabbed hold of the Visualizer. "What's this thing?"

"It's a gift from my friend here."

"That's so nice! Should we give him a gift too?"

"Hmmm, maybe, I'll see what I can think of. For now, if I recall correctly, we had an exciting day planned, didn't we?"

"Yeah!" Sonia exclaimed, throwing her hands up.

"Well gentlemen, if you will excuse us."

She set Sonia down, kissed her on the cheek, and took her hand. They both waved goodbye as they left the laboratory, though Rosa took a second to flash a more serious look Kelvin's way. When they were gone, Kelvin produced a yellowish Visualizer, and Boreal took it when it was pushed in his direction.

"You finished them," he said, examining the device. "Did you tell Rosa about Peace?"

Kelvin rubbed his neck. "…Not really. She gathered that I want to head for Planet FM, though."

"Good."

"Huh? What makes you say that?"

"Because neither of us have ever won an argument with her, so Rosa will definitely be able to talk you out of going."

* * *

 _I wouldn't say he ever really won that argument…but neither did she._

Boreal shook his head, clearing the fog of a memory as he stepped off the elevator and into the briefing room. Around the table sat Sonia, Luna, Geo, Bud, Ace, and Copper, who all turned to look as he approached his seat. Boreal sat down, laid out a folder, and looked over the first page.

"First of all," he began. "Have you kids heard of Noise?"

Geo raised his hand. "I'm not entirely familiar with it, but it's a type of EM wave, right? I think I remember reading that it's a form of pollution that can harm technology when present in large quantities."

"That's right. We haven't made a big deal of it yet, but the Hunter and other very recent technologies are producing much more Noise than anything we've had before. Previously, we really didn't have any reason to invest in Noise research since there just wasn't enough of it to cause real problems, but now, it's necessary to make it a top priority. Sonia, do you still have that card?"

Sonia nodded, setting the Sword card on the table. "This is the one I found after fighting the out of control Wizard in front of the studio. Also…" She set out the Diamond card. "Ice dropped this one. You've encountered these before, right?"

Boreal nodded, turning to Ace. Clearing his throat, Ace explained, "These are Noise Cards. They're imbued with extremely powerful Noise, which they use to corrupt and reprogram Wizards. So, the Wizards you were fighting: the reason they went out of control was because their AI was compromised by the Noise of these cards."

"Then the ones we fought must have had these as well," Luna said. "Shoot, we should've been more observant."

"Ice was different, though," Sonia said. "She definitely went out of control, but she could still speak to us. She remembered who she was, she remembered Belle—her AI seemed more intact. At least, at first."

"That Diamond card must have been programmed differently," Ace said. "They don't all necessarily do the exact same thing. Still, it's pretty remarkable if she was able to avoid being totally taken in by that strong a suit."

"What, you mean suites like playing cards?" Bud asked. "Where'd this Sword one come from, then? I've only ever heard of four suites."

"Without getting too much into ancient history, different parts of the world used to have different but similar playing card decks," Ace explained. "The one you're probably most familiar with includes Clubs, Diamonds, Spades, and Hearts, but Swords are present in the older Latin suit system: Clubs, Swords, Cups, and Coins. We've reason to believe both sets are being used as different levels of Noise Cards."

Bud mumbled to himself as he tried to get all the names straight. Sonia turned to Ace and asked, "Being used by whom?"

Ace grinned. "Well, that's the real reason we needed to bring you here to explain things."

"For a few years now," Copper took over, "we've been monitoring the activities of a criminal organization known as Dealer. There wasn't a whole lot to monitor at first, and it seemed fairly random and non-disruptive for some time. More recently, however, we've come to believe their goals revolve around the utilization of Noise, and they've become noticeably bolder in causing chaos."

Sonia looked back at the cards. "Then they're the ones who make Noise Cards?"

"Correct. One of their operatives must have been present at the studio, and set Wizards out of control to further their goals."

"But what did that accomplish?" Geo asked. "We stopped them before anything too bad happened. Even Ice's attack on the concert didn't hurt anyone."

Copper shook his head. "They might not care if people get hurt, but that isn't their goal. At least, not yet. You see, when a complex program like a Wizard goes out of control due to Noise corruption, they in turn generate _more_ Noise. The more Noised Wizards there are and the longer they're active, the more Noise gets created."

"Wouldn't that mean there's a bunch of Noise still floating around the studio?" Sonia asked. "Is there something we can do about that?"

Copper looked to Ace. The other officer frowned, saying, "The only Noise I detected was what was being given off by the studio's equipment."

"Sonia," Boreal asked, "at any point did you see a cluster of EM waves that had an odd red light to it?"

Remembering the fight with Ice, Sonia said, "Yeah…after we'd been fighting for a while, this green static started appearing around Ice, and when she returned to normal it all condensed into these red orbs."

"I see. What happened to them?"

"I'm not sure. They just kind of flew off before we knew what was happening."

Ace tapped his fingers. Boreal said, "That's what we've come to expect. When enough Noise is present, it crystalizes into an exceptionally dense type of Noise called Crimson. We've managed to collect one or two samples, but it seems that whenever Crimson is generated, it mysteriously vanishes before we can even get there."

Sonia thought a moment. "Dealer."

"That's right. We believe Dealer's current focus to be the generation and harvesting of Crimson."

"But, why?"

Copper was the one to answer: "We're still looking into it."

The way Boreal and Ace shifted made Sonia question that, but she let it go. "Okay then. How do we stop them?"

"I'm afraid at the moment, all we can really do is react whenever they appear," Copper answered. "We're investigating every lead we have, but progress is slow. We had hoped to hold off on this, but…now that they've made such a public attack, it's time we prepare you kids to confront them."

"I'd say we're pretty prepared," Bud said. "We handled Diamond Ice without too much trouble, after all! How much worse can they get?"

"Much worse, actually," Ace said, "but we've got something more pressing to deal with. Tell me: did any of you feel strange at all during your battle?"

"Actually, yes," Luna said. "It didn't last long, but it felt like my body went totally numb."

Turning, Sonia said, "You felt that too? The same thing happened to me."

"Me too," Geo said, "but I figured it was just an effect of the cold Prez was just explaining to us."

Bud scratched his chin. "Well…it happened to me too. But it was when I was burning red-hot, so there's no way it could've been the cold."

"It wasn't," Ace said. "Remember that Noise corrupts other EM waves, including Wizards. FM-ians are not immune."

The table went silent. Mega asked, "Just checking, but what about AM-ians?"

Ace chuckled. "Sorry, no. What I mean is that Noise affects naturally-occurring EM beings just the same as man-made Wizards."

"Yeah, I figured," he grumbled.

"So the more we fight around and against Noise, the more we'll be corrupted," Lyra summed up. "Hm…not a very appealing prospect, I must say."

"Not to worry," Boreal said. "Again, we're actually doing quite a bit of Noise research now, and we've constructed a prototype Noise Filter that we believe will protect you from being corrupted. We should also gain a lot more data from observing how it behaves when you fight Dealer, so we'll patch it as needed."

Taurus nodded once. "Mrrgh! You had us going there for a second. Never should've doubted you!"

"We're just waiting on our specialists to get here," Copper said. "They'll help you install them, plus explain a little more."

Soon enough, the elevator doors opened once again and two people stepped off. One was a tall woman with black hair in a single topknot-like loop, while the other was a much shorter, elderly woman with large white hair and glasses; the labcoat-clad women approached the table at a steady pace, greeting everyone without stopping.

"Good evening," said the taller woman. "It's nice to see you all."

"Sorry if we're a little late," said the shorter woman. "Took me a minute to cross this oversized building."

"Dr. Vega?" Sonia asked, referring to the dark-haired woman. "You're one of the Noise specialists?"

Vega nodded. "After seeing how crucial this research can prove, it was hard to ignore. Still, I'm certainly secondary to my colleague here—she's the real expert."

The older woman waved her off. "Oh, don't flatter me so much, Veggie. Let's see, I should probably introduce myself, shouldn't I?"

"You're Dr. Goodall, aren't you?" Geo asked.

The woman's eyes widened. "Eh? That's right. Did we meet and I forgot all about you? Sorry if that's it, things keep slipping my mind lately."

"No, we haven't met before. I've just read about some of your research. You've done some really amazing work!"

Goodall smiled. "Why thank you, sonny! You sure know how to make an old woman feel welcome."

"We just told them about the Noise Filter," Boreal said. "Would you like to take it from there?"

Goodall cleared her throat, sitting up in her chair as high as she could. Facing Sonia, she said, "First of all, Sonia. We wanted to tell you that as part of our research, we've been studying the EM Compatibility Tuner your mother designed. It has some very unique coding in which we saw the potential to really help our work. We also want to apologize for not asking first—we moved right on without really thinking about it, and for that I'm very sorry."

"Oh…no, I don't mind. I'm sure Mama would be happy to know her program can help people."

Taking over, Vega said, "From there, our research came to focus on one particular source of Noise. Some time ago, WAZA's deep space probes detected an extremely powerful cluster of EM waves, but initially we were unable to make any sense of what we were picking up. Further investigation revealed that it was in fact a gigantic mass of Noise drifting through space. We've spent a lot of time studying that mass specifically, and our first real breakthrough was made by accessing it with a program derived from the Tuner. It is not simply a cluster…it is a highly organized data structure made completely out of Noise. A Noise Server, if you will."

"Wait, wait," Mega said. "You're saying there's a big ball of Noise just rolling around space, and it's actually some kinda roaming server? I've never heard of anything like that."

"I'm afraid I must agree," Ophiuca said. "In all my years crossing the galaxy, I can't say I've ever heard of a single thing like what you're describing."

"Hm," Goodall mused, "that's interesting. We were wondering what the aliens might be able to tell us about it, but it seems like you're just as in the dark. How fascinating!"

"Bizarre as it may be, nevertheless, that _is_ what we've discovered," Vega said. "By modifying the basic functions of the Tuner, we've learned how to access and navigate the Noise Server, and even recall data from it—though, naturally, it is encrypted by Noise and destroys any normal device that attempts to analyze it."

"That's why the Tuner's so invaluable!" Goodall said. "Any EM Being who uses it can harmonize with other powerful sources of EM energy. Wizards using the modified program can decrypt the Noise Data recalled from the Noise Server, and use it to augment their abilities. The Tuner can also harmonize with other external Noise to prevent corruption. This eventually led to the development of the Noise Filter."

Hearing this, Sonia smiled. "Mama's program really is incredible."

"Excuse me," Luna said. "You mentioned augmenting abilities—is that another function included with the Filter?"

Goodall pointed. "Ah, good catch! Unfortunately, no: the standard issue Noise Filter is just that. A filter. Our goal is to eventually mass produce and install it in every Hunter, and if everyone could access the Noise Server and use its data freely, that'd likely cause some serious issues."

"Access to the Noise Server is done using two highly specialized Noise Control Programs," Vega said. "The first generation samples of these programs were used in the construction of special Wizards who were instrumental in charting and analyzing the Noise Server. Just recently, we finished work on the second generation programs, so…Sonia." The girl turned to her. "Rather than giving you a simple Noise Filter, we thought it fitting to give you one of the Noise Control Programs."

"Huh?" Sonia said. "That's…I mean, are you sure I'm the one best suited to use that?"

"You've saved the world twice, sweetie," Goodall said. "You've earned our trust and then some."

Continuing to think over it, Sonia glanced at her guitar. "…Using Noise as an augment…that sounds dangerous. Is there really no chance that it'll make me go out of control like those Wizards?"

Goodall paused. "It's good to be careful about this. You're right: this is a dangerous power, so it's important to treat it with respect. Mathematically, the chance of corruption is not zero, however, under ordinary circumstances it _is_ less than 1%. We weren't able to test in any super dense Noise fields, but we ran numerous simulations, and even in those conditions the chance never exceeded 3%."

"According to our research, you'd need to actually be inside the Noise Server to produce a notable danger," Vega said. "Even then, the chance is roughly 10%. I assure you our research was quite thorough—we would not offer this program so readily if we did not have the utmost confidence in its effectiveness."

Sonia looked down at the table. Behind her, Lyra said, "Well, that sounds fine to me."

Turning, Sonia asked, "Really? Are you sure?"

Lyra smiled. "I am."

Slowly, Sonia turned back around, and after thinking for a short time longer, she looked up and nodded. "Alright, then. I'll take one of the Noise Control Programs."

"Wonderful!" Goodall said, reaching for her Hunter. "I'll send it over immediately."

"What we thought was best for you was the Joker Program, Version 2.0," Vega said. "You'll be able to install and uninstall it at will, in case you change your mind. Now, we also have a second generation Ace Program, and we don't want it to go to waste."

Sonia glanced at Ace. "Wait, then is Acid…?"

Acid appeared, saying, "You are correct. I am the Wizard constructed with the first generation Ace Program."

"Huh. Then where's the Wizard made from the Joker Program?"

Everyone who she expected could answer the question got a very grim look. In a hushed tone, Goodall said, "He is…no longer with us."

Sonia tensed. "Oh. I'm so sorry, I didn't know."

"Of course not, dear. It's quite alright."

Vega set a hand on Dr. Goodall's shoulder. Across the table, Mega said, "So you got some fancy programming. I'm still positive I could outfight you any day, Acid!"

"We're glad to hear you say that," Vega said. "After careful consideration, we were thinking that Mega Man would be the best candidate to receive the new Ace Program."

Geo nearly jumped out of his seat. "W-What?! Why do you say that?"

"As you know, Acid was designed to be very similar to Mega, and after seeing how well he performed with the Ace Program we became quite curious how the two of you would compare."

"We'll do it!" Mega said, slamming his fist on the table. "Gimme that program, and I'll settle once and for all that no copy can beat me!"

"Hang on!" Geo said. "I mean…I'm honored, but really, I haven't been serious about fighting for very long now. What about Bud? He's been working really hard to master Wave Battling for years, so he's probably a better candidate."

Bud's expression was a bit hard to read at first, but he gradually smiled. "…Nah. They're right, it should probably go to you."

"Y…You really think so?"

"Yeah. I mean, we spar all the time and I hardly ever can beat you, and even before you got serious you were still able to help Sonia fight some pretty tough opponents. You're the best choice."

"Besides!" Taurus said, lightly punching Bud's arm. "With our new technique, we won't even need this Noise power-up! Don't think it'll be enough to tip the balance in your favor next time we fight, Omega-Xis!"

Mega shrugged dismissively. "Sure, sure, we'll see."

Geo wrung his hands together. "…Well, I guess…" He shook his head. Looking up, he hardened his face a little and said, "I mean, yes, I'll take the program! The whole reason I want to be better at fighting is to make sure I can keep everyone safe, and it sounds like this'll really help me do that. Thank you very much for selecting me!"

"Excellent!" Goodall said. "Now, just as soon as this is done loading, I'll…" She glanced at her Hunter screen, tapping it a few times.

"The Noise Control Programs have a large file size, so it may take some time," Vega said.

"Hm," Goodall huffed. "In the meantime…" She pointed in Geo and Sonia's direction. "First important thing to note! I've heard about those Star Force and Tribe On powers you've used before, Sonia, and the Noise Changes this program will let you use aren't going to be quite as significant a boost in raw power as it sounds like those were. You will be stronger, of course, but the data files accessed by the basic Noise Changes are more about altering abilities than simply supercharging them."

Sonia nodded. "You said 'basic', though?"

Goodall grinned. "Because that's what we want you to focus on for the time being! Once you master those, then you'll be ready for the more advanced functions of the program."

"That makes sense. Okay, we'll do our best to get the hang of those quickly in case Dealer makes another move."

Her guitar beeped. Examining the screen, Sonia found an email with an attachment, and showed it to Goodall.

"Yep, that's it!" the doctor said. "Alright, another thing: your Wizards will need to hibernate while the program installs…the first time, at least. If you uninstall and then reinstall later, they should be able to do that in a snap."

Sonia turned to Lyra, who said, "Understandable. Perhaps later tonight would be better."

Turning towards Geo, Goodall poked at her Hunter again and muttered, "Now for you two. Here we are, Ace Program 2.0! Send!"

Vega produced her own Hunter, saying, "Oh, before I forget, I'll distribute the Filters as well. Again, we recommend your Wizards hibernate for the initial setup. That's all we have for now, I believe?"

Goodall didn't have anything to add, so Boreal stood. "Hopefully you'll be ready in case Dealer strikes near you again. We'll keep you all updated as we learn more information, and if you stumble across anything, please share it with us as well. For the time being, let's all just keep our eyes peeled."

He, Copper, and Ace were all quick to leave after that. Luna and Bud checked to see that they had received the Filter, and then faced Geo. Grinning, he said, "Uh, you guys can go ahead without me."

"We'll wait for you at the Wave Liner," Luna decided. "Come as soon as you're done."

She stood to leave, and Sonia and Bud inevitably followed. As they walked, Sonia turned to Bud and said, "Hey, sorry about the limited Control Programs."

Bud shook his head. "It's no big deal." Appearing to remember something, he went on, "Oh, Sonia, I need to tell you!"

"Huh?"

"You know how Zack joined the Science Club this year, right?"

"Yeah, he told me. It sounds like he's really enjoying it."

"He's having an awesome time. But, the thing I wanted to tell you is that next week, the Science Club is launching a rocket that they made! Into space!"

"Really? That sounds cool!" They stopped as they waited for an elevator. Something occurred to her, delaying her from stepping onto it when it arrived. "Wait, why didn't Zack say anything, then?"

"I told him to," Luna said, "but he insisted we hold off. Since today was your shooting, he didn't want it to seem like he was stealing the spotlight, so he was going to wait to invite you until tomorrow…or maybe later. He wasn't entirely clear."

Sonia paused, and then smiled and shook her head. "Come on."

"Right? Of course it wouldn't have been a problem! But, he seemed really adamant about it, so we all agreed not to mention it at the studio."

"But we're not at the studio anymore," Bud said, "and I wanted to make sure you knew! He'd really like it if you could come see the rocket launch."

"Definitely!" Sonia said. "Now that the season's done, my schedule's pretty free."

"Don't forget," Lyra said, "we should spend a bit of that free time learning the ins and outs of this new program."

"Ah, right. I'll make sure to master this Joker Program before then!"

Bud pumped his fist. "Awesome! I'll tell Zack, and then he'll give you the rest of the details."

The elevator opened, and the group crossed the lobby of WAZA HQ and exited the building. Sonia stretched. "Speaking of forgetting things, I meant to ask how your campaign is going now, Luna. The election's coming up pretty fast, isn't it?"

Luna smiled proudly. "We've still got some time, but I don't plan to waste any of it. I don't have many opponents, and they're each focused on only a few issues—I'm trying to construct a broader platform to appeal to a wider demographic, and after I win, I'll offer my competitors a chance to head committees for the issues they care about."

Sonia giggled. "You're really thinking ahead."

"I have to, if I'm going to get the school into shape anytime soon! There won't be a moment to waste, so I'm just going to do as much planning as I can now to get it out of the way."

"Don't you have time between the election and when you take the position, though?" Taurus asked.

"Yes, but still: I want to get everything organized so it'll move as smoothly as possible once I do take office. It's what I always do. There's no point in changing what works."

It wasn't very long before Geo joined them. Everyone said their farewells, and then Luna, Geo, and Bud boarded a Wave Liner headed back for Echo Ridge while Sonia Wave Changed and started back towards her studio.

"Hey, Lyra," she said.

"Yes, dear?"

"Is it…weird if I think WAZA's hiding something from us? Something pretty big?"

"I was thinking the same thing."

"If Dealer's as dodgy as they say, it's strange they know even that much about them, and I get the feeling there's still more that they know. And…"

Lyra waited for a moment. "You're curious about the other Wizard, I take it?"

"The last thing I want to do is pry. I don't even have a real reason to, it's just…a gut feeling that something important happened. Something it might be helpful to know."

"We've been doing this a long time, you and I—it's only natural your instincts would heighten by now. If you want my advice, I think we should simply do as they say for now and figure out this program. An opportunity to ask will present itself, and when it does, we won't let it slip away."

Sonia smiled. "You're sounding like Ophiuca."

"…Oh, what can I say, now that we've both reformed I'm actually enjoying her company a bit."

"Thanks, Lyra. It's nice to know it isn't just me."

* * *

Notes:

Sorry this chapter's so exposition-heavy. There was a lot I needed to get out of the way while we were here, but now that that's done, any further explanations should be shorter and more spaced out.

Hopefully the flashback helped vary things a little. Going into this story I realized that Rosa's almost entirely been characterized by others' recollections of her, and it might be nice to actually see her a bit more, so I'm working on a few such scenes to scatter throughout the story in the hopes of fleshing her out more. And lead up to something else. You'll see.

So, the Noise Cards. As I was going over everything I wanted to do in this story, I came to feel like it might be worthwhile to have just a few more bosses, so I took a look into the history of playing cards (meaning "checked Wikipedia") and discovered the Latin suit system. Clubs may be a redundancy, but it seemed like a good way to expand the theming overall. The Sword Cards will mainly be used for the generic Noised Wizards—nothing about the cards used on them was specified in the game, and since they had sword arms I figured this would fit well enough. The others will turn up a bit later.

It's possible the Noise Filter is a tad convenient, but I really wanted to include everyone this time and something like the Filter was necessary to do so. When I was playing SF3, it was so weird how Geo, Sonia, and Bud would all go to address a situation, and then as soon as they found a Noise Wave, Sonia and Bud would just stand back unable to do anything. It felt like there wasn't any point in them being there. If we're going to have a team tackling this problem, then that entire team needs to be well-equipped to deal with it.

I'm also hoping to make Vega an interesting addition. Since she's had a change of heart (and doesn't have the excuse of being off-planet like Cepheus), it wouldn't have made much sense to not include her. I've got some ideas for what she'll offer, but I don't want to spoil anything yet.

While I obviously wanted to keep the Control Programs intact, I also felt it was important to keep the Tuner relevant, and I think the functions are close enough that the connection presented isn't too much of a stretch. Plus, there are a few implications that will factor later on in the story. You might be able to guess what they are.

And here's another big reason why I decided Sonia would only have one Control Program: this frees up the other to be used by Geo! This way, Geo can be more on-par with Sonia, and Black Ace fans needn't worry because we'll be seeing Black Ace Mega Man…eventually. A lot of reviews I've gotten have been from people wanting Geo to do more, and I've really been wanting to address that. I did have to put it off a bit though, partly due to plans I'd already laid down, and partly due to Geo's general disinterest in fighting. His resolution to grow stronger at the end of _Tribe_ was necessary to establish before he'd be willing to accept the Ace Program. So I apologize for the wait, everyone, but Geo's future is looking bright now! He's going to accomplish huge things this time around!

Review response: I've been avoiding Mega Cards since I feel like it could be a bit weird to see. I mean, it isn't too farfetched to have Battle Cards that have recorded image data of EM beings, I just get this awkward feeling when I think about Geo summoning a hollow duplicate of one of his friends or enemies. (In the context of a written story, that is—I love doing it in gameplay.) I dunno, I'm probably worried over nothing. As for Giga Cards, a few of those are definitely in store thanks to the Meteor Server, though I haven't decided if he'll have any in his regular folder later on.

So, the Spade Magnes scenario is up next, and there are obviously going to be some alterations. Since Zack has always been a bit out of focus (both here and in the games), I thought it might be better to have him be involved in this scenario rather than a new one-and-done NPC. Otherwise…well, I'm not really sure what he would do in this story. We'll launch into that tomorrow!


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Lightning bolts shot down in sequence, obliterating a line of viruses immediately. A song carried through the air, directing when and where the bolts fell, and in the midst of the dazzling display danced Sonia. She was Wave Changed, of course, but her appearance was different even compared to how it had been a few days ago: the pink on her dress and armor had been replaced by a medium shade of green, the jumpsuit beneath had taken on an ashy gray color, and her greaves had turned golden. Instead of a scarf, she wore a large green coat that hung loosely from her shoulders, and round, blinking lights lined its edges. Her mostly orange helmet had a more angular look with rounded horizontal ridges, with three vertical bands of gold spaced along it evenly. Her guitar was a ghastly shade of white, with the body shaped to resemble a cartoon-like skull, and rather than the head forming a heart, it was now ornamented with a roughly trapezoid-shaped crown symbol.

With one final note, she called down a wall of lightning and spun her guitar around. "Thank you," she declared with a boisterous laugh, "you've been a _wonderful_ audience!"

She bowed, and then rotated as she stood. Luna, Wave Changed as well, was watching from a safe distance and looking rather impressed. "You're having a lot of fun out there, aren't you?"

Sonia scratched the side of her face, chuckling. "Well…I kind of do miss Crown and Couronne."

She walked over to the edge of the Wave Road, sitting down next to Luna. Lyra appeared on her opposite side, saying, "They were bizarre, and an exhausting chore to interact with."

"But still, they were a lot of fun."

Lyra rolled her eyes. Ophiuca joined them next, and said, "I never got the chance to meet them, but…this is most curious. Are all the Noise Change files based on the abilities of FM-ians?"

Her expression turning serious, Lyra answered, "The ones that we've been able to access, at least. Admittedly, it's…quite strange. I've spent a great deal of time wondering how data from our species ended up in this Noise Server when we've never even heard of it."

"Are you sure that's really what it is?" Luna asked. "Maybe the actual data is more generalized, but the Control Program shapes it into something you're more familiar with?"

Lyra shook her head. She called up a screen and pointed. "The data's labeled 'Crown_ Noise', so that can't be it. I thought perhaps it was simply because I resonated with the FM-ian data, but Mega's finding all the same files with not an AM-ian-derived Noise in sight. It's as if this Server has some sort of fascination with us…"

"Did you ask anyone at WAZA?" Luna suggested.

"We did ask Ace," Sonia said. "Apparently, the first generation Control Programs access a different set of files, so Acid has never used these Noise Changes."

"Huh…well, then maybe that's why. If the doctors built the second generation programs to access different files, then they could have picked the FM-ian set because they thought it'd be a good fit."

Sonia looked up at the sky. "Hm, maybe. I guess I'll need to ask them." She rolled back and lay down, and started to pick at her guitar strings absent-mindedly.

"Not terribly concerned, I see?" Lyra asked.

Leaning up a little, Sonia said, "Uh, sorry, I…"

Lyra smiled, dismissing the screen. "Well, it's possible I could just be getting worked up over nothing. No point in fretting right now."

As Sonia resumed playing, Luna said, "Oh yeah, what was that you were playing when you fought the viruses? I couldn't recognize the tune."

Sonia stopped to think. "Hm, remind me again what I was playing? I got a little caught up in the moment." Luna hummed a few notes, and Sonia's eyes shot wide. "Oh! Hah, I didn't even realize…that's, um, actually something new I've been working on! Here…"

She started playing the song, and Luna sat quietly and listened. A minute or so in, she asked, "It sounds pretty polished—what more do you need to do?"

"Honestly it's just the lyrics that are giving me trouble."

"Really? Why's that?"

Sonia set the guitar on the Road next to her. "Tough to say. I keep trying to think of ideas, but nothing really feels right for some reason. I guess…I haven't really decided what this song is about yet? Or more like, I was feeling something really specific when I came up with those notes, and I haven't figured out how to put that feeling into words yet. You know what I mean?"

Luna's gaze drifted. "…Yeah, I think I do."

No one really had anything else to say, so the conversation ended on its own. Lyra and Ophiuca dematerialized soon after—they had found that using their Real Wave bodies while also Wave Changed for too long would gradually turn uncomfortable. Sonia and Luna didn't move much at all, simply sitting on the edge of the Wave Road and watching the clouds go by as they silently enjoyed each other's company. Eventually, Luna looked over at Sonia: she lay perfectly still. Slowly, she leaned over to see if her eyes were shut (they were), but in the process, the veil that covered her face slipped out and brushed against Sonia's, causing her to wince in surprise.

Blinking, Sonia jokingly said, "Hey, careful."

"Sorry," Luna said, pulling back the fabric. "You looked like you were falling asleep."

"No, I'm still awake."

"I was just checking. I mean, if you fell out of Wave Change, you'd probably go right through the Wave Road, and…"

Sonia smiled. "It's fine. Thanks for checking."

Luna giggled. "I still worry too much, don't I?"

"I don't really mind so much," Sonia replied, shaking her head. "It's just that this got in the way."

She took the veil in her fingers and gently pulled it up and over Luna's head. The two of them locked eyes, and suddenly the air of the situation felt very different for them both. Their faces flushed, and they stayed frozen where they were, unsure of exactly what to do. Sonia's grip on her guitar tightened.

… _I want to let her know…that I…_

Sonia took a deep breath. "Luna…there's something I've been meaning to…"

It was slight, but she could feel Luna pull away just a little. That was enough to make her panic.

 _Oh no. No, no I shouldn't have! This is still too fast for her! No, no I didn't mean to…_

She quickly retraced her arm. The veil fell back over Luna's face as she pulled back further, saying, "I-I'm sorry, I—"

A nearby sound cut her off. Turning, they saw that a new group of viruses was approaching, and so Sonia leapt to her feet.

"J-Just hang back," Sonia said, trying to sound normal. "I can take care of 'em no problem!"

She played a chord; the musical notes that appeared in front of her wavered like they were made of flames, and at the core of each was a skull-like face that sprouted two stubby arms. The notes danced towards their targets, boxing them in so that Sonia could call down more lightning to catch them off-guard.

 _Stupid, stupid! What was I thinking? All I did was upset her—darn it, I didn't want to upset her! Stupid!_

* * *

"Just a little more…"

"You still got it?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Almost, and…"

Zack stepped back tentatively, making sure the rocket wasn't going to fall. When it stayed standing, he grinned, and turned to the others. "Nice job, everyone! Now everything's in place!"

The other Science Club members cheered and congratulated each other. To have more space for the launch tomorrow, they had relocated the equipment to Vista Point, which had been a short hike but hadn't been nearly as bad as they were expecting. Of course, a big part of that was probably due to Bud stopping by to help them out.

"Is it really okay to leave it here overnight?" asked a student who was checking readings on their Hunter. "I still think it might've been better to just come early tomorrow morning."

"Stop worrying," Zack said. "We have one of the school's security Wizards patrolling the grounds, and even if someone gets past them, we've still got our club mascot. Right, Magnes?"

A flash of light signaled a Wizard exiting the rocket. His thin body was blackish-gray with a large piece of curved white armor encasing his chest, and his hands were two oversized gloves—the right hand was red, while his left was blue. His rectangular head had a plain gray face, a yellow visor, and a rounded white helmet with a red stripe down its center and two gray protrusions that covered his ears.

"Yup!" the Wizard said. "I'll make sure the rocket is well-protected! Don't you worry about a thing."

After checking over everything one more time, the club members started to leave, until Zack and Bud were the only ones still hanging around. Magnes had gone to attend to the Cyber Core of the rocket, while Taurus was resting in Bud's Hunter.

"Thanks again for helping us move this," Zack said. "I don't know how we would've made it otherwise."

"No problem!" Bud said, pounding one fist against his chest. "What are Brothers for, right?"

They turned at the sound of footsteps: Sonia appeared from behind the observation deck, waving to them. "Hey guys."

Magnes emerged from the rocket then, saying, "Who's there?"

"It's okay, Magnes," Zack said. "She's our friend."

"Oh? Sorry miss, I guess I shouldn't have been so jumpy." He bowed in apology.

"No, that's fine," Sonia said. "I see you guys got it out of the lab easy enough."

"Bud did most of the work, really," Zack said.

"I couldn't have lifted it by myself, though," Bud said.

Sonia walked in a circle around the rocket, marveling at it. "It's so cool that you were able to build this! How long are you planning to leave it in orbit?"

"We're still debating the specifics," Zack said. "We want to leave it up for as long as possible, but we're probably going to need to bring it back before winter break. Still, even that's a ways off."

"Yup!" Magnes said. "I'll need to report in to the school board before classes are out, and I don't want to just leave the rocket up there without a pilot."

"You're going to be in this when it launches?" Sonia asked.

"Yup! The systems of the rocket are all set up so I can connect to them in a flash, and I even use my magnetic abilities as an integral part of the power cell. They'll probably help with repairs, too, but…hopefully I won't need to put that to use!"

"Wow. Are you excited?"

"Yup! I'm honored to be entrusted with all the hard work these kids put in! It's been great working alongside them all this time, and seeing them all so happy to have completed their work is awesome. I'm going to miss them while I'm up there, but I'm definitely going to make them proud!"

"We all know you'll do a great job, Magnes," Zack said. "This is the result of all your work as well!"

"Thanks, Zack."

Sonia turned to Zack. "Do all the clubs in your school have Wizards?"

"Not all of them, no, but it's something they're in the process of implementing," Zack said. "Magnes was the first one they tested—since we're working with some pretty dangerous materials, they wanted us to have some extra guidance as soon as possible. When they saw how well he performed, the school started commissioning more specialized Wizards to serve as club mascots, and other schools have begun doing the same thing. You left quite a first impression, Magnes!"

Magnes scratched his head. "Ah, stop it, I'd blush if I was programmed to!"

They laughed, and then Magnes departed to check on something inside the rocket. Approaching them, Bud asked, "So Sonia, you'll be here for the launch, right?"

"I'll be here, definitely," Sonia said. "Though, I'll probably be hanging around the Wave Roads until the crowd disperses. Sorry."

"No, I completely understand," Zack said. "The school would be thrown into chaos if they knew you were here! I'm just happy to know that you'll be watching when we finally accomplish our goal!" He paused to look up at the rocket. "The entire club has been working so long for this…and tomorrow, it's finally going to go up! I'm so excited I can hardly wait!"

Bud lightly hit Zack's back. "It's great to see you so pumped up, man! You've seemed way happier ever since you joined the Science Club."

Zack smiled. "I guess so. It always sounded interesting, I just never felt like I could actually excel at it. But now that I've given it a shot, I've found out I'm really, really fascinated with rocket science!"

"WAZA will be lucky to have you someday," Sonia said.

"Oh, I hope so. I actually have an idea of what I want to do now, and…well, it's just a great feeling! Is that what it was like when you started singing?"

"Hm, I wasn't really thinking about my future, to be honest. But, if I do think about it, I guess it is nice to know I have something like a plan."

"Maybe you should think of something too, Bud," Taurus suggested.

With a shrug, Bud said, "Nah, I've still got time. I'll just wait for something to come to me, and if nothing does I can always become a professional eater."

Zack laughed. "Laid-back as ever!"

Magnes appeared once again, turning to Zack. "Hey Zack, it's starting to get kind of late. You'd better get some rest before tomorrow."

Checking his Hunter, Zack said, "Oh, you're right! Sorry, I need to get going—I'll see you both tomorrow, and thanks again!"

Sonia and Bud waved as Zack ran off. Magnes was gone again in an instant, and Bud decided he may as well head home too, leaving Sonia to wander off on her own. Luckily, the streets of Echo Ridge were a bit empty and no one recognized her, so she was able to walk without being bothered, and found herself at the gates of the school before she knew it. Crouching in front of the wall was Pat and a man with shaggy hair and a dirt-covered apron—none other than Wolfe—and not far away, Geo stood watching them with a smile.

"It's too close to the last one," Wolfe said, pointing vaguely. "Move it over just a little."

Holding a small bush, Pat slowly moved to the side and asked, "Here?"

"Perfect."

Pat set the plant down and picked up a tool, starting to fill the space around it with dirt that he packed in to make sure it would hold. When it was stable, he leaned back and gave the tree a once-over, before pulling out a pair of shears and clipping a branch.

"I was wondering when you'd catch that," Wolfe said. "Nice work, Pat."

The boy wiped the sweat from his brow and grinned, saying, "Thanks for letting me help out, Mr. Wolfe! Is there anything else that needs done?"

Wolfe stood and started to remove his gloves. "If I keep you much longer, the teachers are going to say I'm cutting into your homework time. Come see me tomorrow if you have the chance and you can help me work on the soccer field."

Pat nodded. Getting to his feet, he turned back to Geo and said, "You didn't have to wait the whole time."

Geo kissed him and said, "You looked like you were enjoying yourself. It's hard to turn away when you're smiling so much."

Wolfe finally noticed Sonia. Putting away his gloves, he said, "Well, look who it is!"

"Sorry, I didn't want to interrupt," Sonia said. "How've you been, Mr. Wolfe?"

He smiled, showing his sharp teeth. "Can't complain. This job's been pretty good to me, especially since I have this eager kid willing to do so much of my work for me."

Pat shrugged, not looking especially apologetic.

"What about you? I hear you've been doing a TV show?"

"I have! We just finished recording the season, though there are still a few more weeks in the broadcast schedule."

"Guess you'll need something else to occupy yourself with."

Sonia deflated a bit. "Well, something's…turned up to do just that."

Wolfe's Hunter flashed, and the FM-ian Wolf emerged from it. "Hang on. Between that and how dodgy Mega's being, I'm starting to get the idea that something serious is going on."

"Don't worry about it, old-timer," Mega said as he materialized. "You just kick back and enjoy your retirement. Let us take care of whatever nuisance pops up."

"Who said anything about retirement? I'm still more than capable enough for a battle—got one of those fancy new Transcodes and everything!"

Mega leaned forward, saying, "Butt out! You're a civilian, so mind your own business!"

"Oh yeah?" Wolf snarled. "Maybe it's time I get back to causing trouble of my own, then, if being a boring ol' civilian is the role you want me to play."

"Don't joke about that," Wolfe said. "Come on, we've got work to do."

Wolf glanced at him for a moment, and then turned back to Mega. "We're not done."

Mega faced the other direction, saying, "Pfft, sure."

At first Wolf growled at him, but when Wolfe started walking he reluctantly returned to the gardener's Hunter. Taking his place, Lyra said, "It could just be the criminal history, but for some reason, I feel as though you really shouldn't provoke him, Mega."

"Ah, don't worry about it."

"Further, Wolf Woods could potentially be a very useful ally."

"Maybe," Geo said, "but I don't want to ask them if we don't absolutely need to. After they spent so much time learning to calm down and control themselves, I'd hate to ask them to start fighting."

"We've got it covered!" Mega said. "Far as we can tell, this Dealer group is just a few shady card game fanatics. How much muscle will we really need to take them down?"

"I hate it when you tempt fate like that."

Sonia laughed. "Your optimism is inspiring if nothing else, Mega."

Geo sighed. Pat put an arm around him, and then asked, "So what brings you out here, Sonia?"

"I wanted to check out the rocket, now that they've moved it. Zack's already gone home, so I figured I'd come see if anyone else I knew was still about. Seems like you're really learning a lot from Mr. Wolfe."

"Yeah, it's been great! At first it was just a way to pass the time until my bus got here, but I've started to really enjoy gardening."

"I figured it'd be a good fit since you like nature so much," Geo said. "I'm glad you've found something you love to do, Pat."

"Heheh. It's hard not to enjoy myself when I've got you cheering me on the whole way." Pat leaned over and kissed Geo on the cheek. Sonia smiled, though she felt a familiar pain tug at her heart.

It wasn't much longer before Pat's bus finally showed up. Sonia ducked behind the school wall to avoid the risk of being spotted, and after Geo saw his boyfriend off, he waited for her to return and they started walking.

"How's your work with the Joker Program going?" Geo asked.

"Fine. Starting to wonder just how many Noise Changes there are, but I'm finding that the basics aren't too varied."

"Same here. It certainly helps that I've got a point of reference for these abilities, either from seeing them in action or talking to Mega."

"Yeah."

They passed an empty park, and Sonia slowed down. Geo noticed and stopped to look at her.

"Hey, Geo," Sonia said quietly. "Can I talk to you something?"

"Of course. What did you want to talk about?"

Sonia hesitated, looking across the street at nothing in particular for a few seconds. "Me and Luna."

Geo inclined his head. "Oh."

Lyra beckoned to Mega, saying, "Mega dear, would you come this way for a moment?"

Mega complied without much fuss, and Geo and Sonia ambled into the park and sat down on a bench. Sonia looked down, not sure where to start, and began fidgeting nervously.

"Since you brought it up," Geo said, "it kind of seems like you two…haven't really made much progress for a little while. Not that that's bad, it just seemed a little weird because of where you were, I guess."

Reluctance swelled within her one more time, but she pushed through it. "Yeah. We, um…things have kind of stalled, yeah. I mean, we've always moved a little slow, but I didn't mind that—it felt like we were moving at about the same pace, like we had a decent understanding of each other's feelings."

"When do you think it changed?"

"I don't know exactly. Sometime after I destroyed Mu. Right after that was the first time I kissed her on the cheek, and I thought things were going to keep moving from there, but…they really haven't. She kissed me on the cheek at the Christmas party, but other than that…"

Geo shifted. "We're a lot closer to next Christmas than last Christmas."

Sonia chuckled a little. "Exactly. Like I said, it feels like we aren't really moving forward now, and I…well, I…" She clenched her fists, and felt as if her entire body was contracting. "…I _really_ want to."

"But you don't think Luna does?"

After a short pause, Sonia said, "I'm not sure what Luna's feeling."

"I see."

"The other day, I thought that maybe things were going to change. At the studio, after the temperature swing in my room—she stayed with me, and she promised she'd never let me face anything alone again. That made me so happy. It felt like maybe we could finally cross this distance I've been feeling, but…" She started to shake a little. "…Yesterday, I…I was going to tell her how I feel, but…she just looked terrified."

Geo leaned forward, saying, "I'm sure she wasn't _terrified_."

"I'm so frustrated with myself. I want to move on—I really, desperately want that, but I can see how she reacts, and I just feel like I'm…like if I tried, I'd just be…pressuring her into something she isn't ready for. And that's the _last_ thing I want to do!"

"I know you'd never do that."

"I don't want to upset her. I love Luna, and I just want to tell her that! I want…" She covered her face with her hand. "…I want to hear her say she loves me. I don't know why, I just feel like I really _need_ to hear that. I want to push forward. And when I think about that, I feel like I'm being so selfish, when what I should be doing is thinking more about what _Luna_ feels and needs. I know she has her reasons for being afraid to let people in, and I want to respect that. If that's the problem, then I need to focus on doing everything I can to make her comfortable with me, right?"

She turned to Geo. He thought for a moment, and then said, "Well, does it hurt to feel like she isn't already comfortable around you? You two have been through a lot, and you have grown really close, and from your point of view it's just one more step. It must be difficult to wrap your head around how she can see the situation so differently even if you have an idea as to why."

"…Yeah," Sonia mumbled, hanging her head. "It hurts…but that's no excuse for me to hurt Luna."

"You didn't mean to hurt her, though."

"But I did. I _am_ hurting her, because I keep wanting to push forward. And now, I'm just at a loss. I feel like I've failed her. But, despite that, I…" She looked Geo in the eye. "I don't want to just give up. Luna's really important to me, and I don't want to lose her. I want to keep trying, but I know I need to stop pushing…and I'm not sure where the balance is."

Geo glanced over the park as he collected his thoughts. "It's a pretty simple suggestion, but I really think you should talk to Luna about this."

Looking away, Sonia said, "I'd feel like I was pressuring her."

"Telling her that you're concerned about where the two of you are isn't pressuring her. She'll get to voice her concerns too, and hearing what she's actually thinking will go a long way towards helping you figure out what steps to take next. She needs to feel secure, and you need to know she's committed—the only way you're really going to address those is by talking about it."

Sonia just fidgeted.

"This sort of thing doesn't have to be as scary as it looks. There was a point where I was nervous to move things with Pat along, too."

She turned sharply. "Really?!"

Geo nodded. "It was pretty early on. Since he was still working on accepting his condition, I was worried that if I kept pushing our relationship it might distract him, or get in the way or something. I thought maybe I should give him more space. But, by hanging back I was starting to make Pat feel like maybe I was giving up on him. So, we talked about our concerns, and figured out how we wanted to proceed, and now…" He smiled. "Now, we're really happy together."

Sonia looked ahead. "…What if I get carried away? I'm so eager to move on, and I'm afraid I won't be able to hold myself back enough to talk things over rationally."

"Spend some time thinking about what it is you want to say. Just having some time to prepare yourself can work wonders. And if you need someone to bounce ideas off of, just give me a call."

Sonia breathed deeply. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He nudged her with his elbow. "This is just a temporary thing. You two will work it out, definitely. You're a natural at talking things out."

Sonia turned and hugged him. "Thank you, Geo. I really am lucky to have a Brother like you!"

* * *

Magnes emerged from the rocket. The sun had set long ago, and lighting at Vista Point was rather scarce, but he could definitely make out a figure approaching.

"Who's there?" he called.

The figure stopped. "You're the Wizard connected to the systems of this rocket, correct?"

Magnes backed up. "How did you know that? And how did you get past the guard?"

"Hm. I doubt we needed to program such strong repression, but after what happened with the Diamond we do need to be more careful."

"What are you talking about?"

Something struck him. Intense pain washed over him an instant, and electricity burst out of his body to form an image of a stylized Spade in front of him.

"Not yet," the figure ordered.

Suddenly, Magnes vanished.

"Sleep for now. Tomorrow, when they come to launch the rocket, awaken and use the power of the Spade card to run amok. Then, fight Harp Note and her friends, and generate as much Crimson as you can."

They turned to leave then, muttering to themselves, "We need to move much more quickly if we're to get our wish."

* * *

Notes:

I had to shoehorn Crown Noise in somewhere. Crown and Couronne were a delight to write about, and I've really missed having them around.

Honestly, it wasn't until this chapter that I realized how odd the FM-ian focus shown by the Noise Server would seem in context. I started to have Ophiuca and Lyra comment on it just as a sort of nod, but then I started thinking deeper and…well, a lot of things deep down in the story's makeup are shifting now. Hooray for happy accidents!

Magnes is pretty bland here, and I apologize for that. I _do_ have an idea for some development, but the thing is…it can't start right now. Hopefully the end result will be worth the current state of "meh".

I don't plan to spend a whole lot of time on the characters planning for the futures, but since they're a bit older now with the longer timeskips, I thought it was something that might be on their minds just a little. Really, what I'm focused on here is giving goals to Zack and Pat, since I really need to step it up when it comes to those characters. Pat's interest in gardening is a nod to the garden area he loved in the first game, plus it helps that we've got a returning character he can learn that skill from.

It's been a while since Wolfe and Wolf have been present, but there's some great potential there that I want to use. Since it's been so long you might've forgotten: in this series, Wolf is the one who smuggled Omega-Xis onto Planet FM in the first place, so Mega feels pretty indebted to him. Right now he wants Wolf to take it easy, but that's likely to change.

Well, tomorrow rounds off our week of chapters! I'm sure you'll find the fight with Spade Magnes positively electric! (ba-dum-bum)


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

As the entire class rushed to get out the door, Bud hung back and rummaged through his bag. Eventually, he heard the door close, and went to watch through the window until everyone had reached the end of the hall. He turned back around and nodded. In a flash, Sonia materialized, undoing her Wave Change a second later.

"Thanks," she said. "I was going to stay on the Wave Roads the whole time, but it feels like there are a lot more viruses out there than usual."

"Sure thing," Bud said. "You can hang out here until the launch officially starts—I'll send you an email when Zack is ready. Want me to go get Prez?"

Sonia sat down in a desk, facing away from Bud. "…She's probably busy campaigning. I don't want to bother her."

"I'm sure she'd like to see you, though. I'll tell her where you are."

"Thanks."

She looked over her shoulder and smiled as Bud left. Once he was gone, she turned back around, sighed, and hung her head. She leaned against the desk and propped herself up on one elbow, staring out the window at the trees. Lyra let her be. Eventually she heard the door open and turned around, expecting to see Luna there.

The young woman who entered the classroom wore a purple and black dress, and a roughly diamond-shaped pendant that was made of silver metal and blue crystal. Her jet black hair sprouted two long tails that extended just past her waist, as well as two locks that fell to either side of her face, and bangs that met in a sharp point between her eyebrows; disk-like ornaments of yellow and orange decorated the tails, and she wore a similar headband. Her expression was uninterested and unchanging, but the unusual orange shade of her eyes gave a certain edge to her otherwise dull gaze.

"…Huh?"

The woman stopped where she was, staring at Sonia with no clear reaction. After about a minute, she turned and walked over to the teacher's desk, sat down, and without looking back at her, said, "You're not a student."

"S-S-Sorry!" Sonia stammered, leaping to her feet nervously. "I, um, I came to see the rocket launch, but I was trying to keep a low profile, so…"

The young woman flipped through a stack of papers. "I see."

 _That sounds suspicious, doesn't it?_

She looked at Sonia, turning as little as possible. "You're Sonia Strumm, correct?"

Sonia blinked. "…Yeah, actually."

The woman turned back to her papers. "That would explain why you'd want to keep a low profile."

Quietly breathing a sigh of relief, Sonia said, "Yeah. One of my friends is in the Science Club, so I wanted to come and support him. I was worried if people saw me it might distract them."

"Probably right."

"Um…I'm sorry to bother you. I thought this classroom wasn't being used—I'll go find another one."

"You can stay if you want," the woman said, not looking up from her work. "I'm just doing some grading while I have the chance."

"You're a teacher? You don't look too much older than me."

"Student teacher, under Mr. Shepar."

 _Mr. Shepar? Wait, has anyone mentioned a new student teacher…?_ "Oh. What was your name?"

The woman looked at Sonia again. "My name is Queen Tia. Ms. Tia, if you prefer."

"Ms. Tia," Sonia repeated. _No, I don't remember that name coming up. Huh._

Tia lightly pinched the pendant she wore, and it flashed once. A holographic screen appeared to her side—she turned to read something off of it, and then went back to the stack of papers.

Cocking her head, Sonia asked, "Is that pendant…your Hunter?"

"It is now. An associate upgraded it recently to share all the same features."

"That's the same as my guitar! It was originally a Transer, but I've been getting it upgraded to keep up with each new terminal since then."

"Hm."

Sonia waited, but the pause dragged on. "So, what was your pendant originally?"

"It was a unique terminal never released to the public."

Nodding Sonia said, "That's cool. Come to think of it, it looks a lot like one I saw a student here wearing."

"I assume you mean Jack?"

"Oh, right, he's in Mr. Shepar's class isn't he?"

"He is. The pendant he has is the same as mine."

"Really? How did you both get it?"

"We're siblings."

Sonia took a moment to process the statement. "…You are?"

"Yes."

"…Huh." After thinking about it a bit more, she said, "Well, that's great that you were able to student teach in the same class he joined! I'm sure your family's relieved that you're able to look after him."

"I wouldn't say that."

"Why not?"

"Our parents died a very long time ago."

The sentence hit Sonia like a physical blow. Her eyes widened and her heart sank, and she said, "Oh. I…I'm so sorry."

Tia simply continued grading papers with the same look on her face, consulting the screen to her side occasionally. "You had no way of knowing. I've taken no offense."

Sonia was a bit confused by how casual she was being. Though, as she thought about it, she began to wonder if this had something to do with why she seemed so emotionless. "I know how hard that can be. I lost my mother a few years ago, and I've been on my own ever since. I know that it never really stops hurting."

For the first time, Tia actually stopped what she was doing and faced Sonia. Still, her expression didn't change at all, so Sonia had no idea what this action meant. After a few seconds, Tia looked back and resumed working. "No," she murmured, "it doesn't."

Before Sonia could figure out how to reply, the door opened again, and this time it was Luna who made her appearance. She walked a few steps before doing a double-take. "Ms. Tia?!"

"Hello."

"You didn't tell me you had a student teacher," Sonia said.

"W-Well," Luna said, "it just…never really came up, I guess. I mean, she only just recently got here, so…" She stopped to shake her head. "Anyway, come on: if she's busy we shouldn't bother her."

Luna headed back for the door. Sonia said good-bye to Tia, not getting much of a response, and followed Luna to another classroom, one that was completely empty. As Sonia settled into another desk, Luna asked, "So…what were you and Ms. Tia talking about?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing really. Just introducing myself."

"I see."

Luna started to pace slowly, while Sonia sat quietly and looked around the room.

 _Should I talk to her now?_ Sonia wondered. _But, I haven't really had time to figure out what I want to say. Plus, the launch is going to start soon, so I don't know how much time we have, and…if I upset her again…_

Sonia glanced Luna's way, seeing that she had stopped next to the window. The sunlight coming in formed a sort of aura around her, as if she were glowing, and Sonia felt her heart pick up.

"The leaves are starting to change," Luna mumbled.

Snapping out of her trance, Sonia said, "Y-Yeah?"

"I hope we can take care of this Dealer business before winter gets here. Shorter days always sap everyone's motivation, and I don't want to have to get everyone in gear to break up a crime syndicate on top of the normal duties."

Sonia chuckled. "I'll try my best."

Luna paused, but then turned slightly. " _We'll_ do our best, right?"

"…Yeah."

Ordinarily, Sonia would've felt reassured. But now, she wasn't entirely sure what she was feeling. All she knew was that something awful was building in her chest, and she felt like it was going to explode at any second.

"Um," Sonia said, standing, "I think I'm going to…I mean, I should probably train more, I just started using a new Noise Change and I want to make sure I'm ready for the next time something happens, so…"

"Oh," Luna said. "Right, right…"

Sonia dashed out of the room. Luna stared after her a moment, faced the window again, and slumped against it.

"Luna?" Ophiuca asked. "Are you alright?"

Luna put a trembling hand over her eyes. Just as she was about to respond, she heard the door open and turned without thinking.

"There you are!" Bud said. "When you weren't in the…"

Luna turned back around quickly.

"Prez? What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing!" Luna said, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. "Everything's fine, Bud!"

Bud stayed where he was. "Prez…we're Brothers, y'know?"

The room went completely silent.

"I don't know what to do, Bud," Luna whispered. "I know what I _want_ to do, but for some reason I just can't make myself do it."

"Is this about…Sonia?"

Luna nodded.

"I dunno how much help I can be, but if you need someone to listen…"

She looked out the window. She was incredibly reluctant, but her emotions were boiling over, and she couldn't stop them now. "I'm…so embarrassed. And I think I'm hurting Sonia, too. None of this is how I want it to be, but I can't seem to get myself to change any of it. What I want…I want to be closer to Sonia. I want to tell her how I feel and move forward with our relationship, but every time I try I lock up or pull away, and I just end up embarrassing the both of us. I want to be closer, but I just keep pushing her farther away. What happens when I push her too far away?"

Luna gave a short sigh, pacing a few steps.

"What if I ruin any relationship Sonia and I could have? I keep asking myself that, and I have no idea how I'd react, and I think of how miserable it would be, and I just don't…I don't want that to happen."

"Then don't think about that," Bud said. "I mean, if you keep focusing on that worst-case scenario, then all that's gonna do is make you more nervous, and that's not gonna help anything."

"I know, but…"

"First, just try to relax a little."

Hesitantly, Luna stopped pacing, took a deep breath, and tried to let out some of the tension in her muscles.

"What _might_ happen isn't so important as what _is_ happening, right? It sounds to me like you'll accomplish more if you focus on the reason why you're having trouble getting closer to Sonia."

She tensed again, though not as much as before. "It's nothing new, though. I've always been nervous about getting close to people. I thought I was getting better at it, too…" She laughed, sliding both hands over her face. "All the progress I thought I made…and it's gone, just like that…"

"No way! You're definitely better at being open with people than you used to be! This is just uncharted territory for you. You know how to be around your Brothers, but if you go any farther with Sonia, you're letting her in closer than anyone's ever been before."

Luna shifted her weight. "Either way…"

"And I mean, that sort of thing can totally be scary. It isn't just you. When you're super close to someone, it's impossible to think you're never going to hurt each other, and when it does happen it really sucks."

Turning, Luna pulled her arms around herself. "I'm worried about that, of course, but really…"

Bud waited patiently.

"If I really open up to her…what if she sees something that she didn't notice before? Something that she doesn't like? It sounds so stupid and insecure, but…I guess what I'm really afraid of is that, when she really sees everything about who I am, she won't like me anymore."

"You mean, you're worried you might let her down if you don't meet her expectations?"

Luna shuddered. "Yeah, sort of."

"You don't have to worry about that."

"And how are you so sure?"

"Don't you remember? That's basically what I was worried about before."

Thinking back, Luna muttered, "Before…wait, do you mean back when the FM-ians first appeared?"

"Right. I was so focused on how everyone expected me to be strong, and I felt like I'd let them down. But you showed me that when people really care about you, you don't have to fulfill any expectations to get them to care."

"That's right." She paused. "So, you think…?"

"I know you want to always look strong—you're the Prez, after all! People really look up to you, and we depend on you all the time. So I'd get it if you felt like if you don't keep up that strong appearance, you'll be letting people down, or that we'll think less of you." He grinned. "I'll tell you right now: not a single one of us would! None of your classmates, none of your Brothers, and not Sonia. We already care about you, Prez, so don't feel like you need to always look strong in front of us. Brothers are worth more than that, right?"

Luna stared at him for a few moments. Then, she smiled, giggled a little, and said, "Thank you, Bud. It's really a relief to hear that!"

A few tears came to her eyes, but she didn't wipe them away immediately. There was still a lot more ground to cover, she knew, but after hearing that she felt far more confident that she and Sonia could cover it.

"Right," she said at last, standing tall. "How silly of me! I'll need to find a new approach to the problem, but now isn't the time for that. Come on, Bud: our Brother's about to launch a rocket!"

Bud smiled at her as she strode out the door, but still hung back a few steps.

"Bud…" Taurus muttered.

He shook his head. "Let's go cheer Zack on!"

* * *

Vista Point was packed full with students and faculty all vying for a good view of the rocket. Luna, Bud, Geo, and Pat had managed to get to the front of the mob, and watched excitedly as the Science Club approached the rocket. After some nods from his club mates, Zack tapped a button on his Hunter and held it near his face.

"Good morning!" The terminal amplified his voice like a microphone, making it loud enough that the entire crowd could hear. Immediately, they went silent. "Thank you all for being here, as we officially launch the Echo Ridge Science Club rocket!"

A round of applause replied.

"This rocket is a culmination of many hours of hard work put in by every member of the club. It's become a symbol of all of our aspirations, and proof that if we continue to work together, we can achieve all the goals we've set out to conquer! So it's a great honor that you're all here to celebrate this with us, and we cannot thank the faculty enough for allowing us to hold this demonstration."

He turned and smiled at the rest of the club, who started tapping buttons on their Hunter screens.

"Now it's time to make our wish a reality! In just a few short moments, launch will commence!"

The crowd applauded again, and Zack lowered his Hunter. He exchanged a few words with the rest of the Science Club, and as they all started to back up, he opened the connection to Magnes.

Instantly, the entire rocket began to crackle with random sparks. Fearful, the audience murmured loudly, and the Science Club gaped for a few long seconds. Zack tried to run a diagnostic on the rocket, but the program wouldn't load—and then his Hunter sparked, making him drop it. A roar could be heard from somewhere.

"Zack!" Bud called. "What's going on?"

Zack shook his head. "I…this shouldn't be…Magnes? Magnes, can you hear me?"

Another roar was his response. One of the club members said, "Uh-oh. From what I can scan, it looks like the systems are all going into overload! If something isn't done to stop it soon, the rocket will explode!"

"What?!" Zack whirled, seeing a few teachers approaching cautiously. "S-Something's gone wrong! Please get everyone out of here while we try to fix it!"

Panic began to seize the mob. As everyone started dashing away from the rocket, Luna managed to push her way over to Zack and tap his shoulder.

"What's happening, Zack?"

"I don't know! Things were fine a second ago, but now I can't get a detailed reading on anything, and Magnes won't respond either! I don't have any information to work with!"

"So you need eyes inside that thing?" Bud asked. "We could do that."

"But, if you're in there when the rocket explodes—"

"Then we won't be!" Luna said. "You get to safety, and we'll handle whatever's happening."

"But, I—"

"Get going!"

Zack looked back at the club. Some of them had headed off, and others were still desperately typing away at their Hunters. Another roar sounded. Clenching his fists, Zack turned back and said, "I…I can't just run away! This is everything we've worked for—I can't abandon it now!"

Luna shook her head. "I told you: we'll take care of it!"

"And I can't abandon you all either!"

"Huh?"

Zack scrambled for his Hunter. "If that thing explodes with you all inside it, you'll be killed. So, I'm going to find a way to make sure that doesn't happen! You guys just focus on whatever you find, and…" He gave a grin. "I-I'll take care of everything else? Okay?"

It took a moment, but Luna eventually smiled. "Hmph. Well, we'll hold you to that, then!"

As Zack set to work, Luna, Bud, and Geo disappeared into the crowd. Once they had enough space, they Wave Changed outside of the visible spectrum and doubled back to the rocket, spotting an access point along its body. Inside, they saw Sonia had beaten them there, and was staring down the green Wave Road at a figure wreathed in Noise.

The entity was a cylindrical white torso that hovered above an orb of dark purple energy, a malevolent grin permanently stuck to his face. His wedge-shaped helmet was white with a red stripe down the middle, and sat between two massive, angular horns made of dark gray metal; rounded, triangular plates rose from his shoulders, easily dwarfing his head, one colored red and the other colored blue. He had no hands: at the end of each short arm was a lengthy energy blade that matched the hue of the shoulder plate it sprouted from.

"Oh no," was all they heard Sonia say.

Coming up beside her, Geo asked, "Sonia, did you see Magnes get out?"

Sonia shook her head.

"Zack hasn't been able to get in touch with him. Do you think he got deleted?"

Again, she shook her head. "Don't you see anything familiar?"

They all took another look at their enemy, and then it dawned on them.

"Someone used a Noised Card on Magnes," Bud said. "Why those…! How dare they do that! What kind of monster makes a Wizard go berserk at a school event?"

"Guessing it's another one of those Sword Cards?" Mega said.

"Look more closely: that's a Spade symbol on his helmet," Lyra noted. "I get the feeling this could be a tiny bit difficult."

"Egh, whatever," Mega responded. "Either way, let's rock, kid!"

Spade Magnes roared, and then crossed his blades and slowly moved forward. Bud lowered his horns and charged.

"Wait, is this okay?" Luna asked. "I'd hate to hurt Magnes when Zack needs him most."

"The Wizards before just needed to take some damage, and the corruption stopped," Sonia said. "It should be the same…I hope. Either way…"

She crossed one arm in front of herself, almost touching her opposite shoulder, and a static effect slowly covered her armor. Geo made the same motion, and he too disappeared behind the distortion. Meanwhile, Bud was upon Magnes, but the Wizard slipped out of his way and swung one sword, cutting his side as he passed. Luna summoned two snakes around her arms and rushed forward to help.

Sonia emerged from her transformation a second later: the heart plate on her chest now sprouted two long, claw-like protrusions on either side that reached up towards her shoulders, her bracelets had lengthened into vambraces, her scarf now looked ripped and tattered, and her helmet had a pulled-back, more aerodynamic look to it, with the nodes now resembling small animal ears. The body of her guitar was so sharp the instrument almost resembled a spear, and the head was in a shape that looked like the face of a wolf.

Geo, on the other hand, had grown a thick case of armor around his chest, while his shoulders sported two bulbous ornaments. The sides of his helmet came down to frame his face, while the top opened more than usual and rose to form a ridged wall around his head.

"We're starting at 0% Noise, dears," Lyra said. "Though with all that's floating around, it shouldn't be long before we have enough to forge a stronger connection to the Server. Stay tuned."

Geo steadied his buster while Sonia ran in. Luna was weaving around Magnes's sword slashes, getting in a few counter hits with the snakes on her arms, and Bud was just about back on his feet. Sonia prepared to swing her guitar, and Magnes's blue sword suddenly glowed brighter. Bud felt something pulling on him and was yanked right off his feet, pulled through the air straight towards Magnes.

"Whoa, look out!" he cried.

Magnes leapt back, his sword returning to normal. Bud careened straight into Sonia. Luna held both arms forward and her snakes opened their mouths, firing purple blasts that narrowly missed their target—when they hit the Wave Road, however, small pools of purple fluid began to form. Geo had opened fire, but had to abort when a wave of missiles materialized and shot out at him.

"Sorry," Bud said as he got up, "I'm not sure what happened."

Shrugging it off, Sonia said, "It's alright. See if you can draw his attention!"

Bud nodded and moved in. Magnes saw him and created more missiles; Bud tried to dodge, but to his surprise, they homed in on his location. Luna's snakes kept spitting poison blasts, coating the floor around Magnes, but when she realized he was too high off the ground for them to affect him she thought better of it. Bud exhaled a wave of flame that singed Magnes. The Wizard rushed forward, his blades locking with Bud's horns, and the next thing he knew he was under attack from both sides: Luna flung a trio of snakes onto one shoulder, while Geo appeared next to the other to attack with a flaming uppercut. Magnes roared and raised his swords to counter.

"Don't think so!"

Strings entangled him suddenly, and he was yanked away from his targets and towards Sonia. When they were just about to collide, Sonia swung one hand forward, and sharp claws grew from her fingers to cut shallow gouges in Magnes's armor. She followed up with a blow from her guitar, and then Magnes smacked her away with one of his swords. Sonia rolled with the momentum and stayed low, because when Magnes turned around, he found a wide wave of water washing over him. Geo lowered his buster but stayed on the move.

"Magnes, snap out of it!" Sonia shouted. "You're about to destroy the rocket, and if you do, you could kill Zack and the rest of the Science Club! I know you can't want that!"

Magnes just roared, swinging his swords blindly. Sonia kept her distance, but Magnes remained focused on her until Geo, Bud, and Luna all started shooting at his back. Suddenly, Magnes's swords vanished and his shoulder plates grew to encase him, making his entire body look like a rocket. He shot out and bowled over all three of them like it was nothing.

"He seems a touch more…feral than Ice was," Lyra commented. "Getting through to him seems exceptionally unlikely."

Silently agreeing, Sonia started playing her guitar, letting the melody batter Magnes to keep him busy while her friends recovered. Bud blindsided him with a rocket punch and then charged in to follow up, but Magnes raised his red sword, and it started to glow. Instantly, Bud slowed down dramatically, until he found himself actually being pushed back.

Bud looked down at himself in disbelief. "What the heck?!"

Just as it looked like he was about to lose his footing, Luna shot Magnes with her Gorgon Eye. Magnes turned to her, his sword changing back to normal, and flew at her. Geo jumped in front of her to provide cover with his shield, and snakes went around him to nip at Magnes while he was close. Magnes tried to retreat, but a speaker materialized near him and trapped in him strings, giving Geo the opportunity to draw a large shuriken and hurl it at the Wizard.

"I think we've just about got it, kid," Mega said. "You ready to enhance the connection?"

"Go for it!" Geo said.

In a flash, Geo's blue armor changed to a light shade of brown…but as soon as Magnes rammed into him in rocket form, the change was undone.

"Shoot, I guess we left ourselves open," Mega grumbled. "What, we're back to 0?! Rrgh…"

Magnes emerged from his shell to see Luna and Bud both charging at him. He fended Luna off with his blade and took a punch from Bud, then sliced at Bud's legs and toppled him over with a mighty roar. Sonia tried to reel him in again, but Magnes pointed his blue sword at her—a new force appeared, trying to push her back, and Sonia found she wasn't able to pull him any closer no matter how hard she tried.

 _Usually they explain their powers at a time like this. We'd better figure out the trick before—_

Missiles homed in on her, though she managed to keep hold of her enemy. Bud shot a blast of fire that stunned Magnes, allowing Sonia to reel him in, and after another claw slash she bounded away and regrouped with the others.

"50%," Lyra mentioned.

"I'm ready," Sonia said, keeping a close eye on Magnes as her armor turned greyish-teal.

An enormous onslaught of missiles came at the group. They scattered, and each missile turned to home in on either Sonia or Luna. Bud used the chance to shoot another rocket punch, but Magnes's sword soon glowed, and he found himself pulled in for another slash. He grappled with the Wizard, but his foe's wild movements made him too difficult to get a good grip on. Punching Magnes back, he stepped to the side as Geo appeared to slash at their enemy with a sword of his own; Magnes spun, cutting them both, and zipped away from them.

"Darn it, we don't have time for this!" Sonia said.

She strummed her guitar, which now sent out a white shockwave that cut into Magnes. Luna tried a few more poison blasts while Sonia ran in, but when Magnes swung his glowing sword, she was sent careening back into her, narrowly avoiding being hit by one of the blasts in the process.

"Ow," Luna said as they moved to get untangled.

"S-Sorry…"

"Oh, no, I know it wasn't you, I…" She shook her head. "Have…have you got any ideas about what it is he's doing? I've noticed he's being particular about which swords he uses, but that's about all I've got."

"I'm not really sure myself," Sonia said. "But, there's got to be something simple we're just missing."

Twisting a dial on her guitar, Sonia started playing: a trio of wolves materialized in front of her, and as one they rushed at Magnes. The Wizard was busy hurling homing missiles at Bud and Geo, though when he noticed the wolves he turned to fire at them. However, rather than homing in, the missiles were easily evaded by the animals, and when they eventually neared Sonia and Luna they actually veered off-course.

 _That's really weird…_

Magnes deleted one of the wolves while another bit into his shoulder. Geo opened fire to add to the damage, making it more difficult for Magnes to delete the last two, and when Magnes moved to pull him in, Sonia stunned him with another shockwave before he got the chance. Luna and Bud both charged, but Magnes held out both swords and they found themselves being pushed back. When he crossed his arms and moved back, however, they were thrown right into each other.

"Are you two alright?" Sonia asked as she jumped over. She helped Luna up, and then turned to look at Magnes—and immediately crossed her arms to brace against the missiles closing in on her.

"Sonia!" Luna said.

"I'm okay," she said. "But, guys, I think maybe we should keep our distance until we figure out exactly what Magnes is…"

Her eyes widened.

" _Magnets_ , duh! He magnetized us, and he's been generating more magnetism to either attract or repel us!"

"…Wow," Geo said, wondering how he missed it. "That'd also explain why the missiles only home in on some of us. _Wow_."

"Okay, but how do we beat it?" Bud asked. More missiles came their way, so he stepped forward and created a wall of flame to destroy them.

"I believe the easiest way would be to break his swords, since they seem to be his primary method of generating magnetic force," Ophiuca said. "Though, I imagine that's not a favorable idea."

Thinking about the idea of breaking the arms off of the Wizard in charge of Zack's club, Sonia shuddered. "Yeah, but…if we don't act fast…"

Geo suddenly looked up. "You know…I think I've got something."

He quickly explained his plan. Getting tired of waiting, Magnes roared and shot forward in his rocket form. His four opponents all managed to get out of the way, and then they spread out over the area. When Magnes unfolded, he moved quickly to avoid all the attacks being thrown at him, and turned to hurl missiles at whoever he could see. However, he couldn't see Sonia firing strings at him.

"Got him!" she shouted.

Magnes turned and started bombarding her with magnetism, trying to repel her. He felt a powerful blast hit him from behind, but continued to amplify the magnetism until Sonia lost her footing, and with the strings released Magnes turned to face Geo. Geo's armor was brown again and he watched Magnes carefully, though a sudden spike in temperature soon drew the Wizard's attention away. Bud was starting to burn red hot, and it seemed Magnes recognized him as the bigger threat—he began creating missiles, but only got a few out before Luna hit him in the back with a poison blast to distract him.

"You're not looking where you should be," Luna said.

Strings entangled Magnes again. Roaring, he turned and tried to repel Sonia, but this time Luna shot her eyebeams at the point where Sonia's feet met the Wave Road, encasing her boots in stone to keep her anchored there. Geo blasted Magnes, and then he ran forward as his arm became a sword. Magnes used his other blade to repel him. Being so busy trying to fend them both off, Magnes couldn't act fast enough when Bud jumped in front of Sonia, and the same current that held her back ended up pulling him in. A searing hot punch was delivered straight to Magnes's face, spinning him in circles as he crashed and bounced down the Wave Road.

"How do you like that?" Bud said, pumping his fist into the air.

"Nice work!" Sonia said. "Now, I just need to—"

Suddenly, Magnes got back up and roared. It wasn't as powerful as before, but he wasn't quite defeated yet. He raised his swords high, but before he could do anything, Geo teleported in front of him and cut him across the chest, jumping back and up when Magnes swiped back at him.

"Magnes…" he said, his hand glowing with white light. "Please pull through this—for Zack!"

He thrust his hand forward, and at least a dozen spheres of light shot out from his palm and rained down on Magnes. The Wizard's roars were drowned out by the explosive onslaught, and when the smoke finally cleared, he swayed back and forth a few times before dropping to the Wave Road. Everyone collectively sighed.

"Uh…good job, Geo," Bud said. "I thought I'd taken him out with that punch…"

Spade Magnes's body melted into Noise, leaving behind the original Magnes and a Noise Card. Geo headed towards Sonia, but she pointed, saying, "Wait, the Crimson!"

Sure enough, the Noise had crystallized, and the clusters were already being pulled off into the distance. Geo teleported forward and tried to grab one, but it slipped right through his fingers.

"Darn it," Geo said. "I need to remember that next time…"

When Sonia clawed herself free of her rock shoes, she came over and picked up the Spade Card, tucking it away for the time being. She knelt over Magnes and said, "He seems okay…and I don't see any more Noise forming in this space. We'll need to go check with Zack to be sure, but I think we're in the clear."

Sonia picked up Magnes, and together they all headed for the exit.

* * *

Notes:

I may have been unsure about the way I introduced Jack, but I enjoyed writing this introduction of Tia.

Oh, right, ah…yes, despite a few years having passed, Mr. Shepar is still the gang's teacher. Some teachers are certified for multiple grades, and if they switch between them they can offer their class the option to have them again the next year, you know! That actually happened to me going from first to second grade. And, uh, who knows how schools will work in Future Japan? …Look, I know it's unrealistic, but I haven't gotten to do much with Shepar and I wanted another chance. I will do my utmost to justify this convenience!

The idea for Tia and Jack's pendant being Hunters came about while I was thinking about how Sonia's guitar is the only unique terminal in the series, and it's a shame there weren't more. The OCW does mention in passing that, at some point in the design process of the first game, Pat/Rey's headband might've been a Transer, though. Between wanting to do more with this, feeling like the pendants should have some specific meaning, and remembering that they glow when these two Wave Change, I felt like this change could add a little variety.

Sonia and Geo's pose while transforming is the same one you see in SF3 when Mega Man gets a new Noise Change or engages a Multi-Noise. Also, this brings up an important point: even the uncolored Noise Changes are being presented as transformations that need to be activated. I was originally going to have them just always be on, but then I realized this could get very confusing—I'd have to constantly specify which Noise Change Sonia and Geo have set in each scene, otherwise you'd have no idea what to picture. So unless stated otherwise, just assume they're in their new base forms, and we should be able to avoid any confusion.

We also see some more of Luna's new moves: I'm thinking she'll be using this "snake fist" attack more often, and her snakes can now shoot poison blasts. If they hit a target, they get an HP bug, and if they hit the ground, it creates a poison panel. Since the Queen Ophiuca Mega Card formed poison panels, I thought I should include that in some form. Unfortunately, logic dictates that Spade Magnes has Float Shoes. Maybe next time, Prez.

If you're wondering why I went with Wolf and Libra Noises, it's because Ophiuca Noise is being saved for later, and this way we still have one advantageous form and one with neutral coverage. Of course, Libra Noise is weak to breaking attacks, so…it could've gone better. I should probably say now that while I will be showing off plenty of Noise Changes, there's no way I could include them all. Between the basics, Multi-Noises, and Rogue Noise, there are 101 Noise Changes! I don't want to drag the story on for 50-70 chapters just to showcase 'em all! Plus some are going to be restricted by story: I'm hard-pressed to think of a reason why either Sonia or Geo would want to use the Corvus and Virgo Noises (especially once those characters come into play), and if I want to keep Rogue Noise consistent with Rogue Ninja, it would derail the entire plot, not to mention need special justification for being the only non-FM-ian-based Noise Change. So if your favorite form doesn't show up, I do apologize, but I don't want to be working on this one story for three years. I have plans!

And that's our week of chapters! The biweekly schedule worked pretty darn well for _Tribe_ , so that's what I'm going to shoot for now. Chapter 8 is looking good, so check back January 3rd to read it! Though Spade Magnes is defeated, we've still got a bit of cleanup work left for this scenario, not to mention we'll need to prepare for the next one. See you then!


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

By the time Sonia and the others emerged from the rocket, Zack was the only one who had stuck around trying to avert the disaster. He was sweating profusely as he typed away, but when he saw his friends he stopped what he was doing and stared.

"…Y…you're okay…"

Smiling, Sonia said, "Yep. We're all okay. Thanks for keeping things under control, Zack."

As she set Magnes down, she realized there was one other person nearby: Wolfe. He stood at a bit of a distance just observing, but Wolf appeared quickly and rushed up towards the group.

"I knew something was going on!" the FM-ian snapped. "What's the deal? How did you even get in that thing—when we tried, those weird waves blocked us out!"

"You mean the Noise?" Bud replied. "Oh, they probably haven't given you a Filter yet, huh?"

"Can it, Bud!" Mega said.

"They?" Wolf repeated. "Who's they? You really are keeping a lot of secrets, Mega, and I don't like it!"

Stepping between them, Luna said, "Now is _not_ the time for this!"

Zack shook Magnes, shouting, "Magnes? Magnes, wake up! What happened?"

"It was another Noise Card," Sonia said, showing him the item. "We had to fight him, but he's definitely okay now! He should wake up real soon."

"A Noise Card…" Zack mumbled. As he stared at the card, Wolf opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again when Luna glared at him.

"You don't say?" called a voice. "I wonder how they got one into an event like this?"

Sonia sighed, looking up to see Ace approaching. "The situation's under control."

"I can see that," Ace said, coming to a stop. "When we heard there was an unusual amount of Noise at Echo Ridge, Chief wanted to send everyone, but I told him it'd be pretty excessive considering all our best operatives are already there."

"We're not really part of the Satella Police."

"Eh, formalities," Ace said with a shrug. He paused to pull out a candy bar. "Anyway, I'm glad to see no one got hurt. Were you able to get ahold of any Crimson?"

Geo shook his head, but before he could say anything, Wolf jumped over towards Ace. "Hey, you! Explain to me what's going on here!"

Acid materialized, and Wolf stepped back in surprise. Ace set a hand on his partner's arm, saying, "Easy, Acid. I'm guessing you're Wolf? I've heard a lot about you."

"Right," Wolf growled.

"Anyway, I'm not sure we have time for a full explanation right now, but I'd be happy to give you a proper briefing when we've got time."

"At least tell me why I couldn't enter the Cyber Core! If there's some secret to it, I want to know what it is—I'm not gonna sit out if something like this happens again!"

"Oh?" Ace turned to his Hunter. "Well that's easy: I'll just send a Noise Filter to your partner."

Sonia's eyes widened as he clicked a button. "Wh…just like that?!"

Ace gave her a curious look. "Huh? Well, yeah…"

Wolfe's Hunter beeped; he picked it up, and Wolf looked back at him for a second. "So…whatever you just sent him is going to let me get through those nasty waves?"

Ace nodded. "Won't feel a thing!"

"…Well, alright. That's enough for now, I s'pose."

As Wolf turned around, Ace said, "I'll get authorization for a full briefing as soon as I can. I look forward to working with you, Transcode-011."

Wolf stopped to glare at him for a moment, and then disappeared back into Wolfe's Hunter. The gardener didn't say anything as he left.

"Urgh…"

Zack started. "M-Magnes?!"

The Wizard sat up slowly, putting a hand to his head. "Yup…what happened?"

Zack wrapped his arms around Magnes, crying loudly as he attempted to say something. The others backed up a bit to give them space.

"Woah, it's okay, Zack! I mean, I think it is. I am a little sore…"

Ace stepped forward. "Magnes, was it? My name is Ace—I'm with the Satella Police."

Sonia frowned. Magnes looked up nervously, saying, "Th-the police? Uh, okay…"

"Relax, no need to worry!" Ace crouched down next to Magnes, grinning brightly. "I'm here to help. Are you feeling up to just a couple questions?"

"Oh, is that all? Yup, I can do that."

"Great! So…I'm guessing you're missing some of your memory?"

Zack finally pulled away from Magnes, who sat scratching his head for a moment. Eventually, the Wizard replied, "I guess I am. That's unusual…"

"In that case, what's the last thing you remember before things go blank?"

"Let's see…I was in the rocket last night, and the proximity alert went off. I came out to check, and…uh…" He trailed off.

Ace put a hand over his mouth. "Hm. And nothing at all between then and waking up here?"

"No, not a thing."

"So that's how they played it." Standing up, Ace smiled again and said, "Thank you, Magnes! That's all I need from you."

"R-really? I think I still have a lot of questions…"

"I don't want you to overexert yourself, so I'll get the rest of what I need from my associates. For now, get some rest, yeah?"

"Right!" Zack said. "You can stay in my Hunter until we get you back to the club room!"

"Thanks, I think I'll do that," Magnes said. "Man, what a day…"

As Magnes disappeared, Ace turned to Sonia. "When did you notice something was wrong?"

"Zack tried to launch the rocket, and it went on the fritz right away," Sonia said. "When we confronted Magnes…" She glanced at Zack, but he met her gaze. "…he didn't say a single word. All he did was roar and attack us, almost like an animal. We did manage to get the card, though."

She handed the Spade card over to Ace. After glancing at it, Ace said, "It sounds like they totally shut off all the higher functions of his AI. Not really surprising—after Ice was able to think her way out of the Diamond card's corruption, I bet they wanted to prevent that from happening again."

Zack looked up at him. "Is…is Magnes really going to be okay?"

"Oh, definitely! Now that the card has been deactivated, his systems are rebooting, and there should be little if any change."

"Good," Zack said. "I was getting worried there…"

"So, Sonia," Ace said. "Would you mind coming back to WAZA HQ with me? I'm sure the Chief wants to hear this from you, plus there are one or two other things we want to run by you while we have the chance."

Sonia shifted. "I, uh…I'd hate to just run off on everyone."

"It's okay, Sonia," Zack said. "We won't be able to send the rocket up like this. But still, thanks for being here, and thanks for stopping Magnes! Hopefully we'll be able to reschedule and things will go a bit better."

"Heh, I hope so. Okay, then, I guess I'll see you all later."

Sonia followed Ace down the hill to the Wave Liner stop, where a liner with the Satella Police emblem on its side was waiting. The transport set off as soon as they were on-board, and Sonia sighed as she sank into one of its seats. Ace began eating another candy bar.

"…Can I ask why you gave Mr. Wolfe a Noise Filter?"

Ace looked up. "Huh? Wolf said he wanted to help out next time something happened."

"But should we really let him? We've been able to handle things thus far, and Mr. Wolfe is a civilian—I don't want to drag him into a dangerous situation."

"Wolfe and Wolf are gonna be better off with the Filter. Like we said, Noise is becoming a serious problem and our goal is to get a Filter in every Hunter, plus Wolf seemed like the type to try to muscle past it and I do _not_ want to see that happen. You've seen what Noise can do to regular Wizards. Can you imagine what a Noised FM-ian might be like?" He shuddered.

Sonia thought for a moment. "…Fair enough. Maybe it will help keep them safe."

"Besides, I was hoping to get their help eventually anyway."

She turned sharply. "What?"

"Well, not just them. We've got plenty of FM-ians and PM-ians about, and I'm sure they'd all be a real help."

"That's…" She shook her head. "Again: we've been handling everything thus far."

Ace's expression darkened ever so slightly. "Dealer has much worse in store."

Sonia blinked. When Ace returned to normal and resumed eating, she said, "Is this the real reason why you're registering everyone with Transcodes? To draft them all into the Satella Police?"

"No, Project-TC's main purposes are just what Chief told you: collecting data on Wave Change and, in our case, how the Noise Filters and Control Programs work; and keeping track of who can use Wave Change for the sake of public safety. But, since those of us under the program who are fighting Dealer are doing a pretty good job of it, I thought it'd be worth asking all the others if they want to join in. I won't force them, of course."

Sonia glared at the floor.

"You don't like that idea."

"…No, I don't."

"Because you don't want to involve any more people if you don't have to?"

"Right."

Ace paused. "Well, there are a lot of people at WAZA who agree with you. Of course, they don't really want you or your friends involved either."

Turning, Sonia said, "What? That's ridiculous. We're the ones most able to do something in a situation like this."

"Because you can Wave Change?"

"Exactly, we…" She trailed off. After a moment, she said, "There's still a difference of experience."

"Oh, for sure. I'm not saying we just throw them to the front lines—we'd have to train them and get them properly used to what they'll be facing. But, these miscellaneous FM-ians and PM-ians floating around Earth are the ones most able to help."

Sonia ground her teeth. "More importantly, we're already involved, and they're not."

"Because WAZA's asked you, and not them."

"I get the feeling we'd get involved even if WAZA hadn't asked us."

Ace shrugged. "Well, probably right. But the fact of the matter is that WAZA is already asking qualified civilians for help in this matter. Children, even."

"What does that have to do with it?"

"Picture this: a massive organization preparing for a deadly confrontation, employing children to fight on the front lines. Sounds terrible, right?"

"Of course!"

"The thing is, that's what WAZA calling you in would look like out of context."

"…What?"

Ace sat back. "You are kids. And WAZA's having you fight their battles. It makes sense knowing everything you've done, but if you just look at the basics of the situation, it's not a pretty picture. Even some of the people who know the details can't shake that feeling."

Sonia thought for a while. "We're not working for WAZA, though. We never have been. I've always taken on these threats because I _decided_ to—because I understood what was going on and knew I could do something about them. I have a choice, and I'm choosing to do what I think is right. WAZA's helping me because they agree. We're not…child soldiers, Ace."

Ace gave her a thoughtful look. "Huh. I guess that's the answer I can expect from the Heroine of Earth."

Sonia wasn't sure how to take that, but Ace didn't seem ready to elaborate.

"Well, we can put the topic of Project-TC on the back burner for now. There are some more important things we need to focus on."

Sonia leaned back, closing her eyes. "Okay. Like what?"

"Dealer attacked your studio recently, and today they attacked Echo Ridge. It stands to reason they know who Harp Note really is, and maybe Mega Man, Taurus Fire, and Queen Ophiuca, too."

Her eyes opened.

"We'll be sure to keep some protection near Echo Ridge, don't worry. Just make sure everyone's on their guards. If Dealer's decided you'll be useful in helping them make Noise, then they're going to keep involving you until they have enough of the stuff."

"Enough for what?" Sonia asked.

"…Hard to say. But they must be gathering it for some purpose, right?"

"I guess."

Ace resumed eating. "We should be at HQ soon. I doubt Chief will keep you for too long."

Sonia looked out the window, watching the road go by. It felt a lot longer than she remembered.

* * *

Things at Echo Ridge had settled down, but in the wake of the incident, several parents had elected to bring their children home early and the classes were starting to look rather thin. As a result, Shepar had told his remaining students they could use the rest of the day as free study, with he and Tia there in case they needed help, and so the layout of the room had gone from neat and orderly to a few haphazard clusters of desks pushed together. To Jack's dismay, he found that one had formed around him.

"I know what I'm doing—I don't need your help," he said.

Tapping her foot, Luna said, "We're only trying to include you, Jack. If anything, we'd need your help in getting Bud caught up on his math homework."

Turning to the other boy, Jack asked, "What? You can't really be having trouble with problems so basic."

Bud scratched his head and flipped through his textbook. "I don't know, it seems pretty hard to me…"

"It's simple. You have the rules, just apply them to the equations."

"Yeah, but there are so many, so I forget."

Luna put her hand down on the desk. "Listen, I know you're really good with math, so let's make a deal. You help Bud, we'll lend you a hand in return."

Jack crossed his arms. "I already said I don't need your help."

Smirking, Luna said, "Not even with history?"

Jack flinched.

"It's simple, Jack. You've been told what happened, you just need to remember it."

"…W-Well, why should I care about all these random things that happened forever ago? It's not like it has anything to do with me. What's the point?"

"Haven't you ever heard that those who don't study history are doomed to repeat it?"

Jack cocked his head. "…What? That's nuts. If you don't know what happened, how can you recreate it?"

Luna blinked. Geo chuckled a little, but then explained, "That's, uh, a bit more literal than what she means. The idea is that people who aren't aware of what's already happened are likely to make the same type of mistakes, while if they knew about the first mistake, they might know better than to try that sort of thing again."

"Right," Luna said, massaging one of her temples. "History is important because it gives us a chance to learn from other people's mistakes, and build on that foundation to more efficiently build a future world that benefits us all."

"Wow, Prez, that sounds really good," Pat said. "Do you mean that, or are you planning to use it on an essay?"

Luna closed her eyes. "…It can be both."

Scribbling in the margin of his notes, Bud mumbled, "I think I'm going to use that too…"

"Hey, don't steal that! Come up with your own ideas!"

Jack furrowed his brow. "Repeating the same mistakes? Really?"

"History can be more interesting than it sounds sometimes," Pat offered. "Either way, you'll at least need to figure out how to fake it until you graduate, so my advice is you take the deal."

A second later, Jack sighed. "Fine, I guess it'll be a decent way to kill time. Give it here."

Bud slid the book over and pointed to one of the problems. "So on this one—"

"1137."

Bud nearly jumped out of his seat. "Wow, that was fast! You really are good at this, Jack!"

Jack shrugged. "Hmph…"

"Hey!" Luna said, pointing right at him. "Don't just give him the answers! You need to work through it with him to help him understand how it works!"

"What? Why?"

"Because you won't be there when he takes the test, so he needs to learn the actual process to use it on his own then!"

Jack rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine. What's the next one? Start doing it, and I'll tell you…what? How on earth did you get _that_ answer?!"

As Bud tried to explain himself, Geo turned to Zack. The short boy's desk wasn't entirely lined up with the perimeter of the others, and he was hunched over it with a distant, concerned expression. Leaning towards him, he asked, "Hey, Zack?"

Zack looked up suddenly. "Oh, sorry. I guess I'm still thinking about Magnes."

"Sorry we weren't able to prevent this."

"No, I know there's no way you guys could've done that. And I know he's going to be fine. He just seemed really disappointed that he wasn't going to be able to launch the rocket…and…"

As Zack fidgeted, Geo asked, "And what?"

"…The school…is saying that they want to discontinue Magnes…"

"What?!" Geo shouted. The rest of the room turned to him. "S…sorry…"

Everyone went back to what they were doing soon enough, and Pat asked, "What do you mean 'discontinue', exactly?"

"They want to stop using Magnes as a school Wizard, and either turn him over to someone else or…delete him."

"Delete him?!" Mega repeated. "They can't do that! The nerve of those people!"

"It makes sense," Jack muttered. "He caused a lot of trouble and made the school look bad. It'll make people happy if they eliminate the cause of the problem."

Zack glared at him. "It wasn't Magnes's fault! He got corrupted, and was driven out of his mind! He's a victim in this!"

"Why are you getting so upset?"

"Why? Because he's my friend!"

Jack looked confused, but Luna cut him off. "I can understand the school board's desire to take action, but punishing Magnes is the wrong way to go about it. We'll have to do what we can to fight their decision."

Zack looked down. "They seem really adamant. I've been going over it, and…I think the best option is to persuade them to let me take custody of Magnes. Or if that doesn't work, maybe ask Mr. Boreal if he can convince them to send him to WAZA."

Luna looked at Zack. "You don't want to fight to keep him in the club?"

"I…I just don't see it working out, realistically. What Jack said makes sense. If we spend time fighting to let him stay, and then it doesn't work out, I'm worried it might affect our chances of getting custody of him afterward. So, maybe it's best just to go straight to that."

"…If that's how you want to do it, then we're behind you."

Zack shook his head. "Thank you, but I'm still not sure. Magnes really loves working with the science club—it's what he was programmed to do, but more than that, you can see how he's really come to enjoy it. If that gets taken away from him…I have no idea what's going to happen…"

The group fell silent.

"Didn't you say you were friends?" Jack asked.

Zack looked up. "Huh?"

"You said you and this Wizard are friends. Aren't friends supposed to help each other out or something?"

"Exactly right," Luna said. "If the worst does happen, then we'll help Magnes through it. One way or another, Zack, this is all going to work out—that's a promise!"

Slowly, Zack smiled. "…Thank you."

"That was really cool, Jack!" Bud said. "I didn't know you had it in you!"

Jack turned. "Huh? I was just asking a question. What did I do that was cool?"

"Wow! He's cool without even trying! That's even cooler!"

"What are you going on about?!"

At the front of the room, Shepar watched the lively group and chuckled to himself. He glanced at Tia, whose gaze was fixed on Jack, and took a sip of his coffee.

"You look worried," he said.

She blinked, but didn't turn towards him. "Do I?"

"Just a little. It'd make sense if you were: Jack's your brother, after all, and moving to a new school is always a big deal for kids."

"…I suppose I am a bit concerned."

"Things will work out. Looks like he's already making friends!"

Jack looked over Bud's work, shaking his head, and then turned to reply to something Pat was saying. Tia watched him and commented, "Indeed. I never expected it would move this quickly."

Shepar turned to her. "Oh. So that's what you're really worried about?"

Tia didn't say anything.

"Luna can get carried away at times, but I don't think she's going to push Jack too hard right now—she's learned when to let up and give someone their space. And if Jack does start to feel overwhelmed, then you or I can ask them to stop."

Turning very slightly, Tia asked, "And you think they will?"

Shepar nodded. "Definitely. I've known these kids for a while now, and if they realize what they're doing is hurting someone, they'll cut it out. So don't worry: Jack's in good hands."

Tia resumed watching Jack. Luna appeared to be lecturing the group about something, and Bud didn't appear to get it. When Bud finally spoke up, Luna hung her head in exasperation, and the rest of the group started to laugh—Jack included. Tia raised her eyebrows.

Once the event was processed, she decided to set it aside for the moment and turned back to Shepar. "I suppose you would know them quite well. You've been looping with the same class for a few years now, if I recall?"

Shepar scratched his head, grinning. "Yeah, I guess it's three now. I always tell myself I won't get too attached to my class, but when I get a new one, I always end up following them through their stay here. Sure am glad I got certified to teach so many different grades!"

"If I may, the practice seems a bit self-defeating. It's inevitable that they will leave the school at some point, and the more time you spend with them, the more painful it is for you to see them go…I assume?"

"You're not wrong."

"Then why do you still continue those actions?"

Shepar thought for a bit, taking another drink of coffee. "Really…I guess I just want to spend as much time as I can with them, even if I know it's going to be limited either way. It might hurt to see them go, but that doesn't invalidate all the good memories, you know?"

Tia paused. "I'm not sure that I do."

"Heh, well, maybe I'm just a sentimental old man. We'll see how you handle it when your first class moves on!"

Shepar laughed. Tia's gaze drifted upward, not fixed on anything in particular.

* * *

Heartless entered the room to find King shuffling a deck as he glared at the wall. Approaching just loud enough to be heard, she asked, "Is something the matter, sir?"

King flicked one card towards the wall, where it expanded into another screen. Once again, a ball of red light could be seen amidst many stars, but this time King seemed far less pleased with it.

"It _is_ coming," he muttered. "But recently its pace just…slowed to a crawl, abruptly. Even if we need more Crimson to complete the process, with the amount currently in our possession, we should be drawing it more rapidly than this."

Heartless tilted her head. "Hm. How very peculiar."

King placed a hand over his face. "I swear…it's almost as if there's someone interfering, trying to steer it off in another direction…"

For a split-second, Heartless's eyes widened.

King was lost in thought, but soon recalled the screen, breathed deeply, and grinned. "But that would be absurd. Tell me, my dear: how are the children doing? I trust they haven't let their recent failures dissuade them, hm?"

"You'll be pleased to hear that they're just as motivated as ever, sir," Heartless replied, looking perfectly composed. "They are currently preparing for the operation in Alohaha, and I believe they're shaping up to do a fantastic job of it."

"Excellent! This will need to cause quite a stir, more than these trifling warm-ups have."

He drew one hand across the desk of his chair, spreading out several cards face-down. He flipped over three: a queen of hearts, a ten of spades, and an ace of spades.

"You know, I've been so focused on Harp Note, WAZA, and that prodigal son of mine…I must confess, I've been neglecting that other nuisance who has been plaguing us."

He flipped over another card—the ace of diamonds.

"His meddling is starting to become quite annoying. Before he has the chance to interfere with anything crucial, I think it best we discard him. And since he likely won't be all that useful in producing Crimson…I see no reason to bluff."

He flipped over one more card—a joker—and then leaned back in his chair, chuckling to himself.

Heartless bowed. "Whatever you deem appropriate, Mr. King. I shall see that your orders are carried out."

* * *

Notes:

This chapter and the next are sort of a mix of wrapping up the Spade Magnes scenario and setting up for the next one. A little quieter, but hopefully still interesting.

We've also got the first one-on-one interaction between Sonia and Ace. This should start to give an idea of why Sonia feels like they don't get along great, which we'll get deeper into the more they work together.

I never thought I'd say it, but I'm actually enjoying writing King. He's the perfect character to give me an excuse to write unnecessary, ridiculously specific things like that card-flipping scene.

Thank you for the reviews! Answers to specific questions below:  
-Story Writer 2015: I'm planning a scene similar in nature for Alohaha, but it's going to come up under some different circumstances.  
-The Unplanner: A Mega Noise would be neat, but since Harp Note's guitar has already been modified to be more buster-like the only big offense ability I could add would be Battle Card usage, and the expansive versatility of that feels like a bit too large a boost for a simple Noise Change. A Mega Man-based transformation is by no means off the table, but it's definitely going to be a while.

I'm hoping to post chapter 9 on the 17th, but I don't have a complete draft yet so I'm hesitant to say for sure. I will do my best, but, uh…if you check back on the 17th and don't see it, know that I messed up and will post it as soon as I complete it! Hopefully I'll be able to get back into the rhythm I had with Tribe and this is just me being paranoid.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"…and after that, we headed over here."

Boreal leaned forward, looking down at his desk as he absorbed what Sonia had told him. "…First the studio, now the school…"

"Yeah," Sonia said, "Ace mentioned that on the way here."

"I'll station more officers at Echo Ridge, and near your studio." He was already typing into his Hunter.

Nodding, Sonia's gaze drifted out the window, watching the clouds drift past the rock walls surrounding the HQ. She turned back suddenly when she realized Boreal was looking at her.

"How are you doing?" he asked.

"Oh, not too bad, I'm just…" After a few seconds, she leaned back in her chair and sighed. "Ace was saying that some people here weren't keen on the idea of getting my help."

Boreal seemed surprised for a moment. "He told you that?"

"I sort of get it, but…and, I don't mean it to sound like I'm taking offense from it or anything." She watched herself fidget. "I don't know. I _want_ to do this. I'm glad that you asked for my help. Maybe I just automatically assumed that you would." She looked up at Boreal. "How do you feel about it? Me and Geo and Luna and Bud working with WAZA to fight Dealer?"

What surprised her was that he didn't answer right away. After pondering it for a short while, Boreal slowly began, "If I'm being honest, I can't say I'm not conflicted."

"Because we're kids?"

"Well, yes. It's the job of adults to protect children, not lead them into more danger. It's only natural that, on some level, a lot of us would feel like what we're doing here is a betrayal of that. Ultimately, Sonia, you are who we need in this situation. I can recognize that. But to get there, it's almost like I have to let a part of my mind go dark—the part that approaches things as an adult who wants children to be protected. I have to approach it with total objectivity, as a scientist, and watch the math prove that you kids are our best option." He shook his head. "Sonia, I can't be completely objective all the time. Especially when it comes to you and Geo."

Sonia rubbed the armrest of her chair. "I guess not."

"I believe in you all, but I'm going to do everything I can to keep you safe. Really, that's exactly what we're asking you to do for us, so it's only fair."

"Alright."

"So, how did this come up anyway? With Ace?"

Frowning, Sonia said, "When I asked about giving the Filter to Mr. Wolfe, he started talking about his hopes for Project-TC."

Boreal nodded, shutting his eyes. "He's a bit _too_ talkative sometimes."

"How long has that been the plan?"

"It isn't really the plan. It's something Ace, Detective Copper, and I have discussed at length, but we haven't reached a decision yet."

"Ah. Mind if I contribute?"

Boreal smiled. "I'm guessing you're against it."

Sonia leaned to the side, trying to hide her grin. "Look, the four of us are doing well enough already! And if we did need back up, we could still call in Ace…I guess…I think we're covered. I mean, who was he even planning on calling in? I guess I'd understand Claude and Kid, and I'll probably get over involving Mr. Wolfe. Who else is there? Yeti doesn't Wave Change with Amy. We still haven't found a home for Plesio. Crown and Mr. Couronne are off-planet, and the other FM-ians I know might be too."

"He's at least considered every one he knows of," Boreal answered. "Which is, well…all the ones you know. Even suggested we call the Admins back. Or, I guess I should call them Sages now?"

"My word," Lyra said, "this fellow truly is searching for the largest hammer he can find."

"Is Dealer really even this big of a…well, deal?" Sonia asked. "I'm not saying we should leave them alone, but right now I feel like we're much better prepared than we were for bigger threats in the past. And we came out of those just fine."

Boreal tapped his fingers briefly. "We can't be completely certain. But…we do have suspicions. And it certainly wouldn't hurt to err on the side of caution."

Sonia sat up. "So…you agree with the idea?"

"No, like I said, we're still discussing. I'm not fully convinced one way or the other. I don't want to involve any more people than are necessary, especially now that we've expanded into a worldwide organization—our manpower is higher than ever, so there shouldn't be a need. But this could become a very specific kind of battle, the kind that can only be fought with EM Wave Change, and it might be wise to plan for that possibility as well. Part of me just wants to wait and see, but I'm also worried that the only way we'll get enough information to decide is if something terrible happens." Boreal gave an exasperated shrug. "We're at an impasse. I don't know what's next."

Sonia nodded and leaned back again, humming as she stared up at the ceiling.

"Well, before I forget…we were considering asking you about something, and in light of today's events I'm more convinced than ever."

Turning back to him, she said, "Huh? What do you mean?"

"It's sort of an assignment. If you want it."

Sonia sat up.

"Not long from now, your friends are going to be taking a school trip."

"Yeah, Luna was talking about that. They're going to stay a weekend in Alohaha, right?"

"Exactly. We've been thinking it might be best to make sure they're safe, and it seemed the best way to do that was to ask you to go with them."

Sonia blinked. "R…really?"

"If Dealer does know who your friends are, then they could see this as an opportune time to strike at them: they'll be on a relatively isolated island in the south, much farther away from the bulk of WAZA's presence than they normally would be. I have confidence in Geo, Bud, and Luna, but an extra pair of eyes might make everyone feel safer."

"Ah. When you put it like that…" She nodded. "Sure, I'm up for it. I won't let anything happen to them."

Boreal smiled. "Thank you. If you need any help with arrangements, just let us know."

"Roger."

Hesitating a bit, Boreal went on, "Also…if you get a chance while you're down there, there's someone we were hoping to make contact with. We'd like to get his help in keeping an eye out for Dealer."

Sonia's expression flattened. "Just keeping an eye out?"

"…Possibly assisting in some other way."

"Hmmm."

"And who," Lyra asked, "might this mysterious contact be, Mr. Boreal?"

"A Wizard named Strong," Boreal answered. "He's the Admin of Alohaha's famous environmental system, and he's been a part of Alohaha's community for ages."

"Ages? Were you hiding Wizards that long?"

"Strong wasn't originally a Wizard. While the environmental system only reached its peak somewhat recently, the groundwork was laid a long, long time ago, and Strong was created at the same time as a Net Navi."

"Wow," Sonia remarked. "Haven't seen those in use for a while."

"Strong was so integral, not only to the system but to Alohaha itself, that the people unanimously decided to keep him functioning even after Net Navis fell out of use. And now that the technology for Wizards exist, they opted to upgrade him into one."

Sonia averted her eyes. "Well…I'll at least talk to him about keeping an eye out for Dealer. That's easy enough."

"Thank you. I think that's everything, then. Be sure to contact me if anything comes up."

Sonia said good-bye and left Boreal's office, wandering out into the hall and taking a cursory look around.

"Well," Lyra said, "seems we've a trip to prepare for."

"Yeah."

Lyra materialized next to her. "Not a fan of the beach?"

"What? Oh, no, I..." She paused. "I guess I wasn't expecting Mr. Boreal to be so concerned. Maybe I've just gotten used to it, but I never thought my age would make people hesitant to let me help. What do you think?"

"Hard for me to say. The way children are regarded here on Earth is a bit different than how it works on Planet FM—otherwise Cepheus wouldn't have taken the throne when he did. Not to mention I didn't think twice to impose upon you when I landed."

"Hm…"

"From what I can gather, our case does seem to be out of the norm, but you heard Mr. Boreal: despite some misgivings, he still has absolute confidence in you. If others have similar concerns, then surely they too will come to see reason."

"Thanks," Sonia said, smiling a little. She came to an intersection of halls, but then stopped. "Hey, would you mind if we checked in on Plesio? That talk made me realize I haven't visited him in a little while."

Lyra shrugged. "I suppose so, though I doubt it'll be a particularly cheery affair."

Sonia giggled. "Come on."

They ventured further down the hall until they came to a small lab. Poking inside, they quickly caught the attention of its occupants, though they weren't exactly who they expected to find.

"Sonia!" Goodall greeted. "I heard you were about—wonderful to see you again! Veggie, say hello!"

Vega bowed slightly, saying, "Hello, Sonia, Lyra. What brings you this way?"

"I was telling Mr. Boreal about a new incident," Sonia answered, "and then I thought I'd check in on Plesio. He's usually around here…"

"Oh, I see," Goodall said. "So you didn't come down here just to visit us?"

"Huh? I'm sorry, I didn't mean—"

"Haha, I'm just pulling your leg, dearie, no need to fret."

Vega stifled a small laugh, saying, "I'm afraid Plesio's not here at the moment. He's gone out to assist in a mission once again."

Sonia nodded thoughtfully. "He's been doing that more and more. I'm glad he's getting out, but…I can't help but worry a little."

"I understand your concern. At first I also thought Plesio was simply sticking with what he was familiar with, not willing to try anything new."

"At first?"

"Well…"

She trailed off as voices could be heard coming up the hall. It wasn't long before Copper stepped into the room, holding an ice pack to his head as he muttered, "I would've _thought_ it was obvious. Guess I assumed too much."

Behind him came Hyde, an unpleasant frown on his face as he worked to clean some kind of grime off his cane. "Oh, of course, my mistake. In the future I'll be sure to ask for every minute detail you can provide, o wise detective."

Copper clenched his teeth and turned around. Upon realizing Sonia was in the room, he stopped short, and took a deep breath. "Hello, Sonia. Sorry if we interrupted anything."

Taking note, Hyde lowered his cane and said, "Good day, Harp Note. Apologies if you heard any coarse words on our approach, but we've had something of a day and weren't fully prepared for company."

"Ah, no, that's fine," Sonia said. "I was actually looking for…"

Before she could finish, Plesio floated into the room at last, and turned to look at her. "…Hello."

It took her a moment to smile. He looked and sounded somber as ever, but for all the times she'd visited over the past year, Plesio had never gone out of his way to greet her, leaving her a bit shocked at the change.

"Just the PM-ian we were looking for!" Lyra said. "How've you been as of late, Plesio?"

"Alright," Plesio stated.

"So, you went on another mission?" Sonia asked. "How was that?"

Plesio turned to Hyde and Copper. The latter managed a smirk, saying, "Even if it was a bit rough, we were very glad to have you. That exit you found really saved our skin. Thank you."

With a nod, Plesio headed for a console near the back of the room. Goodall stopped him part way and said, "Hold on a second, Messie! Don't you want to visit some more?"

Plesio slowly turned back to face the others.

"It sounds as though the mission was…" Vega started. She glanced at Plesio.

"Not to worry, Lady Vega," Hyde said, suddenly far more enthusiastic. "We were able to accomplish our goal as promised. True, things got a bit hairier than expected, but it would take more than that to foil your loyal servant!"

"It was your fault we almost failed," Copper said flatly.

Hyde scowled. "A matter of perspective, my fine old detective. I for one believe our enemies were simply more prepared than we gave them credit for."

Copper rolled his eyes. "Fine, then I guess that makes it your Wizard's fault."

A quiet grumbling could be heard. Grinning, Lyra called, "Afraid to show yourself, Phantom? My, I had no idea you were such a shy individual."

"Pipe down," replied a voice from Hyde's Hunter. "I just have nothing to gain from indulging you simpletons."

"Well! Small wonder you can't do your job effectively: that's not exactly the attitude of a team player! Perhaps we should ship you off to a seminar for the weekend, that could do you some good."

"Excellent idea, Lyla!" Goodall exclaimed. "I know of an excellent program making the rounds—I could easily book tickets for our troublesome team here."

"No!" Hyde and Copper said in unison. After they exchanged a glare, Copper elaborated, "I, um, appreciate your offer, doctor, but I really don't have time for that sort of thing. Got to stay on top of Dealer, you know."

"Indeed, indeed, quite gracious, my good doctor, but I'm afraid I also simply cannot attend," Hyde said. "Simply put, I don't want to."

Vega inclined her head.

"Er, rather, I too must be on alert to aid in the war against Dealer! There is but one Transcode-006, after all, and who could replace the Dark Phantom?"

"Just about anyone," Copper said.

Hyde turned to say something, but Goodall interrupted, "Now now, boys, I think that's quite enough of that!"

The two of them grumbled. Hyde walked over to a table in the corner of the room, while Copper turned to Sonia. "On the way in I heard there was an incident at Echo Ridge. Was it Dealer?"

Sonia drooped. "Yeah. They used a Noise Card to send the Science Club's Wizard out of control, and nearly blew up the rocket they were trying to launch."

Vega's jaw dropped. "They were willing to cause an explosion like that at a school event?! That's abominable!"

Grinding his teeth, Copper said, "Those monsters…and I bet their operatives didn't show their face either?"

Sonia shook her head.

"And was there Crimson? Did it disappear?"

"Yep. We tried to grab some, but it was pulled off before we could."

Vega put a hand over her face, turning and taking a few steps towards the wall. Hyde looked up from what he was doing.

"But we were able to save the Wizard. Nobody got hurt, in the end."

"It isn't the end yet," Vega mumbled. "They're going to keep gathering Crimson, and who knows what they'll resort to next? They really don't care at all if anyone gets killed by their reckless actions!"

Sonia tilted her head. "…Whatever they try, we'll stop them. You can count on us."

After a moment, Vega turned slightly. "Of course—I apologize, I didn't mean that I doubt your ability. I'm just…"

As her pause dragged on, Goodall walked over to her and tapped her arm. "Not to worry, Veggie. This whole mess'll get sorted out soon enough."

Vega nodded. "Thank you, Dr. Goodall."

Goodall spun around. "Before I forget! How are the Noise Control Programs working?"

"Oh, they're working just fine!" Sonia said. "We haven't experienced any problems, even when we were fighting in the Noise."

"I do have a question," Lyra spoke up. "I couldn't help but notice that all of the Noise Changes we've been able to access are directly inspired by various FM-ians. It's made me exceptionally curious."

Goodall nodded, humming quietly. "All of them, you say? We could see a few that were labeled that way, but we couldn't be entirely sure. How fascinating!"

Lyra sighed. "Then I take it you don't have any ideas on why…"

"Sorry, can't help you on that one. The NCPs can only access so much—there's a lot of data in the Noise Server we haven't been able to touch yet. There _could_ be some information locked away that might give us some insight into the history of the server, but I'm afraid we've got nothing for you at the moment." She chuckled. "Although, hearing this makes me exceptionally curious as well! Veggie, what do you say we get back to fiddling around and see if we can't work anything out?"

"Yes, Dr. Goodall," Vega said. "I'd be more than happy to assist you."

Sonia turned to Lyra. The FM-ian stared at the wall for a few moments more, but then she closed her eyes, let out a breath, and returned to the guitar.

"I should probably get going," Sonia said. "I'll see you all later!"

"I'll walk you out," Copper offered. "It'll give me a chance to prepare myself before I go to file my report."

Once they were out in the hall, Sonia asked, "So do you think Plesio's doing alright?"

"I can't be sure. He's become a bit more talkative—a little bit—and he's always helpful when he comes on missions. But I'm still not really sure why he keeps asking to come with us. Says he'd just like something to do, and that this is something he feels he can do well, but…he's not showing much interest in anything else."

"Hm. I still haven't been able to find a good home for him. Maybe we should try harder to find some kind of hobby he might be interested in? That could lead to something."

Copper shrugged. "I don't know. Dr. Vega's been spending a lot of time with him, but she's come up with nothing."

Sonia nodded. "…And how is she doing?"

"Alright, for the most part. I think that's all down to Dr. Goodall. Still, she's been on edge lately."

"Why's that?"

"Dealer, mostly. They've got us all pretty nervous."

Sonia looked up. "You know, I really think everyone's worrying too much."

"Better too much than not enough."

They walked in silence for a short time. As they waited for the elevator, Sonia turned to Copper and said, "I've heard that some people around here don't want me and my friends handling this."

Copper turned sharply. When the elevator arrived, he stepped onto it slowly. "Ace?"

Sonia stepped on behind him. "Yeah."

"Thought so."

The doors closed, and the elevator began to descend.

"Mr. Boreal kind of explained why," Sonia said. "I guess I was just wondering where you stand on the matter."

"I learned a few years ago to trust in your ability to handle these things," Copper said. "Though I have to admit, I don't think it's fair that you _have_ to be the one to take this problem on. It seems like you don't have much of a choice in the matter."

"I don't feel that way. If I have the power to help, then I want to use it."

Copper smiled. "I know. You're a good kid. I'd just feel better if we could give you some more options."

They exited the elevator.

"I wish there was more I could do to help you," Copper went on. "I swore an oath to protect the people of Earth, but it's become quite apparent I can't do that against what really threatens it. Wave Change really has become the weapon of choice on all sides. Simple humans like me can't keep up with that."

Sonia lagged a few steps behind as she tried to think of something to say.

"In any event," Copper said, "we'll continue to offer whatever assistance we can. If you need anything, don't hesitate to let us know."

"Right. Thank you, detective."

* * *

When the final bell rang, it didn't take long for the students to begin pouring out of the school. At the gate, Luna stopped, stepped off to the side, and turned back to the others.

"Zack, let us know if there's anything we can do to help with Magnes," Luna said.

Zack nodded. "I will, thank you."

"Bud, you go straight home and finish that assignment pronto! I don't want you turning up tomorrow with a blank page and lame excuses!"

Bud saluted. "You got it, Prez!"

"Jack—"

"I know, I know," Jack interrupted, "write up some notes for the history essay. I already said I'd do it."

"Good." Luna paused. "Are you going to be waiting until your sister's done?"

"What? No, she said she'll be awhile so I should go on ahead."

"We can walk with you if you want," Bud offered. "Where do you live?"

Jack shook his head. "No, it's a long trip. I'll go on my own."

"Well, alright. Hey, thanks again for all your help today! No way I would've been able to get caught up without your help!" Grinning, he reached out and pulled Jack in with one arm. "Who knew you were hiding such a big brain?"

"Sh-shut up!" Jack said, kicking as he tried to pull free. "Don't you have work to do?"

Finally, Bud let go, and he and Zack departed. Jack straightened his jacket in a huff, but as he watched them go, a smile crossed his face for just a second. When he got his scowl back, he muttered goodbye to everyone and headed off.

"If it's a long trip, I don't understand why Ms. Tia lets him make it himself," Luna said. "She should watch her younger brother a bit more closely!"

"She doesn't really seem the type to worry," Pat said. "Doesn't surprise me."

"Come on, I'm sure it's just that she trusts Jack," Geo said. "Not that it's really any of our business…"

Luna closed her eyes and frowned. "The well-being of my classmates _is_ my business, thank you very much! It's only natural I'd show concern."

Geo chuckled. "Heh, right, sorry."

Bumping him lightly, Pat said, "We sure are lucky to have a Prez like Prez, right Geo?"

Luna shot a cold glare at both of them. At first they were too afraid to move, but soon her expression brightened and she quietly giggled.

A beep from Geo's Hunter caught their attention. He pulled it out and checked the notification, and then uttered, "Oh…"

Pat leaned behind his shoulder to get a look. Luna asked, "What is it?"

"It's from Sonia. Apparently Mr. Boreal's worried Dealer might try something while we're in Alohaha, so she's been asked to go with us in case we need help."

"…Oh," Luna mumbled. Turning, she tried to check her own Hunter as discreetly as possible.

"Um, I'm sure she'll be sending a mail to each of us before too long," Geo said. "This also says Lyra was asking the doctors about the Noise Server, that's probably the only reason mine came first."

Nodding absently, Luna slipped her Hunter back into her pocket and stared up at the sky. "Sonia's coming to Alohaha…"

Geo and Pat exchanged a worried look.

Suddenly, Luna smiled. She clenched her fist and nodded, saying, "Okay!"

"Okay…?" Geo repeated.

Turning, Luna said, "I'll see you both tomorrow! Don't forget…well, you two pretty much have it together. Bye!"

She was off before they could form a proper response. Geo scratched his head and asked, "What do you think that was?"

Pat shrugged. "I don't know. But I get the feeling this is going to be one wild trip."

* * *

Notes:

Made it! Sorry this is so late, I only just finished it. Apparently I haven't quite adjusted back to working with deadlines yet, and I was really dragging my feet. Hopefully my last-minute rush didn't do more harm than good…

It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to do with Plesio, but I think I've got it now. Wanted to bring him back into view before we got too much further, even if it was only a rather small scene—same with Hyde. They're not going to factor into the Alohaha scenario, but we'll be seeing them again very soon after.

I'll try to have chapter 10 done by the 31st. I'm going to do my best to finish a draft much sooner!


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Sonia surveyed the beach from the Wave Road with a smile on her face, letting the warmth of the sun seep into her.

"I can't believe I've never been here before!" she said. "Next tour I definitely need an Alohaha concert—this place is too gorgeous to skip!"

"I suppose it's nice enough," Lyra said.

"What, is that all?"

"This human fascination with beaches still eludes me. I don't think I've ever seen a species so fascinated by a bed of sand and a large pool of salt water."

"I'm sure you'll come around eventually."

"You really think? Now that the novelty of oceans has worn off I'm inclined to think my ways are quite set."

Sonia giggled, and then turned to look up the Road. She could see Claud eagerly running in her direction, and a short ways behind him, Kidd came at a more leisurely pace. The alterations to their Wave Changes were barely noticeable: the hair-like protrusions on Claud's helmet stuck out less and had blue tips, and the blue areas on his pincers were a good deal more narrow, meanwhile the belt and trim of Kidd's uniform were now the same shade of green as the swirl designs on its legs and sleeves, which now extended to intersect with the trim, and the bell he once carried at his waist was gone.

"Sonia!" Claud shouted, skidding to a halt. "It's so great to see you!"

"Great to see you too!"

When Kidd arrived, he paused to bow slightly. "Hello, Miss Sonia, Miss Lyra. Apologies if we're a bit late, we encountered a few viruses that proved rather tenacious."

Sonia returned the bow. "No, I haven't been here long. Nice to see you again!"

Cancer materialized in front of Claud, asking, "Hey, so, you're not here because anything b-bad is going on are you?"

Appearing next to him, Goat said, "Cancer, do not be rude."

"It's a fair question! If she's asking to meet with Strong out of the blue like this, what am I supposed to think?"

"Even if something is about to happen, we must face it with courage when it comes. Be patient, and steel yourself."

Cancer scoffed. "Easy for you to say…"

Sonia's gaze drifted. "Well…it's nothing too extreme. Mr. Boreal just thought it'd be worth asking Strong to keep an eye out for us."

"Huh?" Claud said, jumping. "Sonia, if something's going down you shoulda called us! We'd be happy to swoop in and bust some chops!"

Taking a few steps back, Cancer said, "Now now, Claud, no need to be overeager."

"We haven't exactly had notice," Lyra answered. "Rest assured that should the time come to marshal our forces, you're all at the top of the list."

Claud and Kidd nodded and turned to each other, while Sonia hummed quietly.

"Then let us not waste any more time," Kidd said. "Please follow us, and we will show you to where Lord Strong resides."

Smiling quickly, Sonia said, "Ah, thank you!"

It was a short walk to where the beach gave way to a paved plaza, and rising up from behind the dozens of small shopping stands was a long building made of ancient gray stone, with a gabled roof made of rounded, bright red shingles. As they came closer Sonia noticed several lion-like statues in front of the building and on its roof, but she only examined them for a moment before noticing her friends had stopped.

"We shall go greet Lord Strong in the material world," Kidd said. "Please join us on the castle's Wave Road, and I am sure he will be willing to speak with you."

Sonia nodded and they temporarily parted ways. While Kidd and Claud went to find a point where they could get down from the Wave Road, Sonia continued through the arched doorway of the castle to find a hall with a high ceiling that housed several small displays, though her eyes were drawn to the massive computer console that took up most of the far wall. In front of it floated a Wizard who looked as if he were made of the same stone as the castle, with his body, shoulder armor, and head all having a distinct rectangular shape to them. He sported a few blue lines and green squares on his armor, and wore a red belt with gold designs along its length. A red staff with a gold tip that held three floating rings was in his hand, and as he watched over the hall, his expression never changed from the neutral, not quite stern one he had when she entered.

Kidd and Claud soon entered the hall below Sonia, and quickly made their way to where the Wizard floated. After bowing, Kidd said, "Good day, Lord Strong. Pardon the intrusion, but may we ask for a moment of your time?"

Strong's expression remained the same as he faced the children. When he spoke, his voice was deep and clear, with a very even tone that gave his words a soothing quality. "Good day to you all. I trust you are doing well?"

"Never better!" Claud said. "Hey, a friend of ours is in town, and she wanted to talk to you if you had the chance."

"Oh? A friend, you say? I would be delighted to meet her. Of course, I do have to execute a manual maintenance cycle in roughly an hour…where is your friend now?"

"She should be here now, on the Wave Road," Kidd said.

Strong looked up, spotting Sonia. She waved and took a slow step forward.

"Ah, that sort of friend," Strong said. "I should have suspected. In that case, I believe we should meet in the environmental system's Cyber Core. This way."

Kidd and Claud thanked Strong, and then they both raced back out of the castle to find a place to discreetly Wave Change. Strong disappeared inside the environmental system, and when she reached the end of the Wave Road, Sonia followed him to find a wide expanse of Road, empty save for more lion statues that lined the edges.

"Pleasure to meet you," Strong said. "My name is Strong, and I am the Administrator of the Alohaha Environmental System."

Sonia bowed. "The pleasure is all mine. Thank you very much for letting me speak with you."

Strong turned his head for a moment—a screen appeared next to him, and after he scrolled through a few lines of data, he turned back, and the screen vanished. "Forgive me, I may receive updates on the system from time to time. Now, if I had to guess, are you perhaps another Wave Change user like those boys?"

"Yes, that's right. My name is Sonia."

Lyra appeared next to her. "And I'm Lyra, from Planet FM."

Strong nodded once. "I see. And would I be correct in guessing that you are the famous Harp Note I've been hearing about?"

"Yeah, that's us," Sonia said.

"Remarkable. It is an honor to meet with someone who has been able to defend the Earth from such extravagant dangers as you have. What is it that brings you to my humble island?"

Before Sonia could respond, Claud and Kidd entered the Cyber Core. "Let us hear too!" Claud said, bounding her way. "I'm dying to know what's going on!"

"Sure," Sonia said. Turning back to Strong, she said, "I'm actually here representing WAZA. They were hoping you could assist them in monitoring the activity of a criminal organization that's been causing some trouble recently."

"Oh dear," Strong said. "That's worrisome news, but I will help in whatever way I can."

Sonia nodded, and took a moment to prepare. "Have you ever heard of Dealer?"

Strong stroked his chin. "Hmm…not that I can recall."

"Have there been any incidents of Wizards going out of control, like they were losing their minds?"

"There have been crime reports involving Wizards, but I would not say any were behaving in that fashion."

"I see…and would you be aware if there were abnormally high levels of Noise anywhere on Alohaha?"

Strong checked a screen. "Yes, the environmental system would detect such a thing. The levels have been somewhat high, but still within the levels projected as a result of the Hunter and such devices—there have not been any unusual spikes."

Sonia breathed deep. "Okay. So it sounds like they haven't been here. That's good."

"Wait, hang on," Claud said. "What's this about Noise and Wizards going out of control and stuff?"

"This group, Dealer, has been using these special cards to infuse Wizards with Noise, overwriting their programming and making them run wild. When they do, they create a lot more Noise, and then Dealer harvests it and retreats. We've been able to stop them, but…if we hadn't, plenty of people would've gotten hurt. They don't seem to care much about the results of their actions so long as they can make Noise."

"Understood," Kidd said. "So we should be on the lookout for any Wizards acting suspiciously, and any sudden rise in Noise."

Strong took a moment to look at another screen, and then returned his attention to Sonia. "Thank you for the warning, Harp Note. I shall pay special attention to the Noise levels going forward, and should I notice anything unusual I will contact WAZA at once."

"Don't you worry, Sonia!" Claud said. "If those creeps show their face around here, we'll shut 'em down faster than they can blink!"

Strong chuckled softly. "We are in good hands. These boys told me of their Wave Change abilities several months ago, and offered to assist me in maintaining order on the island. Their help has been indispensable."

"We are privileged to assist you, Lord Strong," Kidd said, bowing again. "It is an honor to work alongside the guardian deity of Alohaha."

"Yeah, and it's been a ton of fun!" Claud said.

"So that's what you've been up to?" Sonia asked. "Well, I feel better already! Just be careful, alright?"

"Of course," Claud said, "we're always careful."

"You could afford to be a bit _more_ careful," Cancer mumbled.

"Thank you again, Strong," Sonia said. "Hopefully nothing will happen, but I'll be around to help for the next few days."

"Your help is much appreciated," Strong said. "Though, I too hope we will have no need for it."

"One last thing," Sonia said, calling up a screen of her own. "WAZA wants to provide you all with Noise Filters, to keep you safe in case Dealer does make a move, or if the Noise levels become a problem on their own."

"Be sure to hibernate while it installs," Lyra said as Sonia distributed the programs. "Once it's in place, you'll be perfectly safe from the effects of Noise."

Strong nodded. "I see. Thank you very much—we have been attempting to combat Noise using the environmental system, but our results thus far have not been encouraging. If I may ask, will this tool be made readily available at any point?"

"Definitely," Sonia said. "Once WAZA feels they've got all the bugs worked out they're planning to put Filters in a Hunter update."

"I am glad to hear it. It sounds like Noise shall soon be of no concern for the people of Alohaha."

Sonia smiled. "We'll do what we can to speed that up."

They exchanged goodbyes, and then Sonia, Kidd, and Claud left the Cyber Core and followed the Wave Road until they were outside the temple. Claud snapped his pincers and said, "Man, I can't wait to get a shot at these Dealer creeps! It's been way too long since I got a real fight!"

Kidd chuckled. "Do you mean a fight you can win?"

"Hey!" Claud said, pointing. "Our matches don't count 'cuz we're friends! I'm talking about a serious, tough battle, with real stakes!"

"Well we don't know if they'll target Alohaha for sure," Sonia said.

"Then I'll just tag along with you, Sonia! Trouble always seems to follow you, after all!"

Sonia made herself laugh, but couldn't manage much. She turned, looked at the ocean, and let her expression droop for a few seconds.

"Sonia?" Lyra asked.

She turned abruptly. "Hm?"

"I think that Wave Liner coming down the tracks is the one we're waiting for."

Spotting the transport, she said, "Oh, thanks Lyra."

"Those are your friends?" Kidd asked.

Sonia nodded. "Yeah, should be."

The Liner slowed to a halt, waited a moment, and then opened its doors, releasing a flood of passengers mostly made up of the Echo Ridge students. Shepar acted quickly to keep them from scattering, and once the class was all rounded up he led them to a less busy section of the plaza.

"Alright," the teacher called, "I know you're excited but just hang on for a second! Let's see, is everyone here? No one's still on the Liner?"

He did a quick roll call—all the students were accounted for.

"Okay. Ms. Tia, why don't you remind everyone what our schedule is?"

Tia turned towards him, actually looking a little surprised. "Me?"

"Sure! You're going to need some lecture experience at some point!"

Tia looked at the students for a few seconds, her face blank as ever once again. She closed her eyes, called up a screen from her terminal, and scanned over it quickly.

"Shortly…" she began, too quiet for many of the students to hear. She stopped and cleared her throat, and then started over in a more audible voice. "Shortly, we will visit the hotel and ensure that everyone knows where their rooms are, but beyond that the majority of today is free for you to do as you please. You are encouraged to be on your best behavior, and remember to be safe—try not to wander too far by yourself. All students are expected to report back to the hotel by 7 PM this evening; the school has provided for a barbecue event to be held at that time. As for tomorrow…"

She gestured to the castle.

"We will be taking a tour of Alohaha Castle to learn about the history of this region, as well as the famous environmental system that maintains the climate and prevents natural disasters. Following that, we will return to Echo Ridge in the afternoon."

Tia looked at her screen again, then to Shepar. He nodded.

"You heard her!" Shepar said to the class. "If there's anything you want to do while we're here, make sure you do it today! Now let's find our hotel! Everybody, this way!"

The class began to move. Sonia watched, picking her friends out of the crowd: Luna appeared to be lecturing them, with Bud and Zack nodding along. Geo and Pat were off to the side having their own conversation, and Jack was fiddling with his Hunter, though he did stop every now and then to respond to Luna or glance at the stalls they were passing.

 _I haven't talked to Luna much since I told her I was coming here._

She shook her head.

 _Well, this is the perfect time to change that!_

She turned in the direction the class was headed, but then stopped.

… _But then, I guess I need to wait until they get away from the rest of the class._

Before long they were out of sight. Claud asked, "Are they coming back?"

"I'm sure they'll get in touch once they're checked in," Sonia said. "So Strong says you've been helping around here? What exactly have you been doing?"

"Fighting viruses mostly," Kidd said. "Though on rare occasions we will have a run-in with human or Wizard criminals."

"Yeah, like those Mal Wizards that are going around!" Claud said. "I still don't get why people would even use that model. Even if the Wizard is going to do something illegal, why make them look so suspicious?"

"They are predictable through and through," Goat said. "You are right that there is no one challenging out here. I am not happy to hear trouble is brewing, but I cannot deny I hope to get a good fight out of it."

Sonia hummed. "You'll probably get one. The first time I saw a Noise Card it was used on a normal utility Wizard, but it made him a lot tougher than I expected."

"Really?" Kidd said, his eyes gleaming. "Then I may get to push my limits a bit more after all!"

"In that case, the actual Dealers must be super tough!" Claud said. "Have you fought any of them yet?"

"No," Sonia said, "I still haven't met any. Seems they're the type to control things from behind the scenes."

"Aw, that's lame. A battle like this doesn't really start until the top brass get out and fight!"

"I'd definitely like to settle things as soon as possible. But there's no telling when they'll attack next, so for now all we can do is wait."

A loud grunt from below caught her attention. Turning, Sonia saw a Wizard down at one of the stands who was doubled over in pain, stumbling out into the street as he moaned. It wasn't long before more Wizards started acting the same.

"Perhaps they're more punctual than we give them credit for," Lyra said.

Sure enough, Noise began to erupt from the Wizards, startling the crowd as they began to mutate. Sonia held her arm in front of herself and said, "Claud, Kidd, we need to do something! I'll be there in just a second!"

Claud bounced to the edge of the Wave Road, snapping his pincers in glee. "Awesome! First day on lookout and I'm already getting to kick these goons around with Sonia! You coming, Kidd?"

Kidd simply chuckled and leapt onto the street below, entering the visible spectrum as he did. Claud soon followed, leaving Sonia to execute her transformation.

"Hey!" Claud shouted, pointing at the nearest Wizard. "You lot better not be planning to make any trouble! Surely you know that you'll never get away with it as long as Cancer Bubble is around!"

Ignoring him, the Wizard turned and brandished their new sword, smashing it into the stand they had just been operating. The rest of the bunch did the same, some of them swinging in the direction of the humans nearby, causing the surprise in the area to swell into a full panic.

Kidd dashed out in the blink of an eye, knocking a Wizard flat. "Seems it'll be a bit more difficult to get their attention."

Claud spotted a Wizard about to attack a human, hurling a pincer through the air; it clamped onto the target's arm, pinning it to the stall right behind them. While they tried to pull free, Claud charged, opening his other pincer and shooting a jet of water at his foe. He was almost on top of them when a stream of bullets from another Wizard hit him. Kidd leapt at this Wizard, kicking them in the head, but had to react quickly to block the swing of yet another Wizard. Claud was recovering slowly, and had only just realized that his initial target was free. The Wizard loomed over him, but before they could swing, something came down from above and smacked them into the pavement.

Looking up, Claud saw that it was Sonia, her new form complete. She had rather simple-looking armor over her torso, and her hands were encased in gauntlets that thickened around her wrists. Her shoulders sported large, flat, hexagonal plates; her scarf was pulled up over the bottom half of her face, and the nodes on her helmet had grown into horns. The guitar, currently pressed against the corrupt Wizard's back, had a more metallic sheen and a number of circular openings down the length of its neck, while the now-red body constantly spouted two tongues of flame near where the neck joined, and the head was in the shape of a bull's head.

"We need a way to lure them away from the plaza," Sonia said as she surveyed the area. "There are too many people here to keep track of!"

Getting to his feet, Claud said, "Got it! Kidd, you hear that?"

Between punches, Kidd replied, "I did! I believe I can manage that, but I will require a moment!"

Sonia and Claud went to his aid, the latter shooting many of the Wizards nearby to encase them in bubbles. As Sonia flung them away with a sound pulse, Kidd took a few quick steps backward and put his hands together. Around him, several duplicates of the fighter flickered into existence, jumping in different directions almost as soon as they appeared, and then another set appeared in their place. After producing over a dozen doppelgangers Kidd stopped to catch his breath, and then he turned, found a target, and jabbed. Similarly, his clones each sought out a different Wizard to attack, managing to snag the attention of all who weren't already focused on Sonia and Claud. Once that was done, they all withdrew just slowly enough to keep their foes' attention.

"Great job!" Sonia said. "Lead the way!"

The mob converged on Kidd's location just as his doppelgangers began to vanish. Sonia battered the rows of enemies with musical notes, and Claud jumped from one to the next bashing them with his pincers. A pair of Wizards went straight for Kidd, but he flipped back into the air to avoid their strikes, retaliating with a bolt of energy that stunned them both. Claud and Sonia regrouped with Kidd as he headed onto a now deserted road—the horde followed them, shouting and shooting wildly. Once they were far enough away from the plaza, Claud jumped forward and raised his hand, and his pincer suddenly grew until it was three times his size. He scattered the Wizards with a single swing.

Kidd rushed some of the survivors, meanwhile Sonia paused to enhance her transformation: her armor turned red, and her scarf became gray with black circles that resembled the openings on her guitar's neck. Aiming the head, she played a note, and an orb of fire shot into the pile of Wizards trying to pick themselves up, exploding on impact. The Wizards that managed to avoid getting hit raised their guns. Sonia ran to avoid their shots, letting Claud trap them in bubbles so that Kidd could more easily kick them into each other. One stray Wizard moved forward and raised its sword, but Sonia just ran faster and tackled it to the ground. Before she could follow-up, however, the Wizard coughed up a ball of energy, paralyzing her. She was unable to do anything as the Wizard knocked her back and unloaded a series of bullets into her. Once the effects wore off she slammed her guitar into the ground, causing a line of fire spouts to shoot up in front of her and send her foe reeling. Another Wizard was coming in fast, and she prepared as best she could, but before either got a chance to attack, the Wizard was sent flying by a blast of energy.

Sonia turned to see Geo standing there, buster aimed. Smiling, she said, "Thanks for the help."

"We heard Wizards were going berserk, and we figured you could use an extra pair of hands," Geo said, keeping an eye on the Wizards as he ran closer. "It's just me, though—we thought it'd be too conspicuous for us all to try to sneak away."

Sonia turned and shot a fireball at an incoming Wizard. "Makes sense. We're pretty covered here, though. It's just that these guys came out of nowhere; I'm not sure when they could've gotten corrupted."

A massive axe appeared in Geo's hands, and he teleported a few feet forward to swing it at a group of enemies. "Guess Mr. Boreal was right that Dealer would take this opportunity. We're going to need to be careful while we're here."

"Don't worry too much—between all of us I'm sure it'll be fine."

She checked Claud and Kidd: both were still steadily whittling down their opponents' endurance, looking like they were having the time of their life. When Claud prepared to hurl a pincer, however, he froze up suddenly, and he lost his footing. About the same time, Kidd put a hand to his chest and closed his eyes. Sonia scrambled to aim her guitar at the Wizards closing in on them.

"Shoot, that's right, they haven't had a chance to install the Filters!" Sonia said. She blasted away a few of the attackers, but the explosion didn't catch all of them. "We've got to hurry!"

Geo activated a Whistle Battle Card, emitting a shrill sound that stunned the Wizards and caused them to be dragged through the air away from Claud and Kidd and towards Geo. Sonia began to smack them with her guitar, but she couldn't get them all, and Geo wasn't able to load another card fast enough to take proper advantage of the situation.

"Rain of Fists!" called a deep, clear voice. In an instant, a storm of projectiles rained down on the mob of corrupted Wizards, pummeling them all into the ground. Sonia looked up: just past where Claud and Kidd stood, making his way onto the road, was Strong.

Sonia sighed. "That's impressive. Thank you, Strong!"

"I became concerned by the ruckus I was hearing," the Wizard said, stopping next to Claud. "I would've been here sooner, but I needed to ensure the environmental system was properly secured. Tell me, what exactly is going on?"

One by one, the Wizards were starting to revert to normal. Sonia gestured to them and said, "This is what I was telling you about: these Wizards were corrupted by Dealer. They'll be fine now. Oh, but we should try to pick up their Noise Cards, and…" She looked around. "Is there any Crimson?"

Strong helped Claud and Kidd to their feet. "I see. This is every bit as horrific as you described it. Is everyone unharmed?"

"I'm not really sure," Claud said. "I felt totally numb for a minute there…"

"I felt the same," Kidd said. "Miss Sonia, is this some technique these Wizards employ?"

"It's the effects of Noise," Sonia answered, stooping to pick up a few cards. "That's the reason why we gave you Filters: once you install those, you won't have to worry about that again."

Kidd nodded. "I see. What an awful feeling…"

"Hm," Strong said. "To think it would take effect so quickly...I must be sure to install this Filter as soon as possible. But for now, I think it best to return these Wizards to their homes. I hope you do not mind if I leave the disposal of these Noise items to you, Harp Note?"

"Oh, not at all! That's what we're here for," Sonia said. Turning to Geo, she added, "We can handle this, if you need to get back."

Geo looked over his shoulder for a second. "Well, it can't do much harm to take another minute to help you with this. Prez would probably scold me for leaving you so quickly anyway."

Sonia smiled a little, and then returned to what she was doing. Claud and Kidd were helping Strong revive the other Wizards and lead them back to the plaza, so she didn't say anything to interrupt them.

"Hey, Sonia," Geo said.

She turned. "Hm?"

"I know you're going to be on lookout, but you should come to the beach for the barbecue later. It'll be a lot of fun!"

"Heh. I don't know—I definitely want to spend time with you all, but I can't exactly join in the party with everyone else around."

"I think you'll really enjoy it. Trust me."

He handed Sonia the cards he had picked up. She let out a breath as she counted up how many they had collected, and mumbled, "Maybe." She looked around to make sure they hadn't missed any Noise Cards, and to verify that Crimson didn't seem to be turning up.

 _I'm glad this wasn't a huge problem…but then again, I doubt Dealer would make the trip if this was all they had planned._

* * *

Notes:

*Walks in over a month late with Starbucks* …Heeeeeey…

I'm sorry this took so long. I don't even really have a good excuse—I have been a bit stressed, but there were plenty of times where I could have written but just didn't, so in the end it's all down to my poor work ethic. If you're still reading, thank you so much for coming back!

Anyway, time to see if I can get through this scenario with accidentally typing "Alola"…

I thought it was a bit strange that Kidd was mentioned to be from Alohaha but wasn't included when we actually got to see it, so I wanted him involved here, plus I established him and Claud as friends in Tribe so I had to bring Claud along too. The only things I could think of to upgrade Kung-Fu Kid was an enhanced doppelganger ability and ki attacks, meanwhile Cancer Bubble gets water jets and the ability to increase the size of his pincers. In case I can't find a good place for it in the story: Kidd is Transcode-008, Claud is Transcode-009.

Taurus Noise Harp Note is pretty straightforward. The scarf's design and the fact that it's pulled up over her face is meant to resemble Taurus Fire's flamethrower snout.

Okay, moving on to the reviews:

-Sdarkynecro: Those are some really interesting ideas for Mega Noise! Unfortunately, now that I've had Lyra make a big deal about how all the Noise Changes are FM-ian, I'm not sure I can work in a Mega Noise without it feeling shoehorned in. I might try using those for something else, though!

-Guest: Woody and Pedia have both been cut from this series. I felt giving Woody's role to Zack would help to flesh him out a bit more, which is something I'm still struggling with, and that led to bumping Pedia in favor of Magnes. Sorry for the confusion!

Next chapter…I don't even know. I feel like if I state a goal I will inevitably fail to achieve it. I'll do my best, hopefully something unexpectedly encouraging will happen!


	11. Chapter 11

"Finally," Geo said. "It's been forever since I got to visit a beach!"

As the group made their way towards the water, Zack said, "I'm surprised there aren't more people here. Unless, maybe they're nervous after the incident with the Wizards?"

"I wonder," Pat said, raising a hand to shield his eyes. "That's too bad—it really is beautiful out today!"

Jack wiped his brow. "It's too hot."

"That's why I told you not to bring that dark coat," Luna said. "Honestly, do you not own any other clothes?"

"Give it a rest," Jack grumbled. "I just didn't think it was going to be _this_ bad."

"You'll cool down fast once you get in the water," Geo said.

"Uh, I don't know about that…"

Zack looked up. "Huh? Why come to the beach if you aren't going to get in the water? I mean, I don't plan on going far, but still…"

Jack scratched his head. "I'm just…not really interested, is all."

Stopping where she stood, Luna turned and faced him. "You can swim, can't you?"

Jack's eyes widened.

"Unbelievable! It looks like we're going to have to teach you."

"H-Hey, don't assume anything! I can swim!"

"Don't feel bad, Jack," Pat said. "It was a while before I learned to swim. You pick it up in no time!"

"I can swim! Can't you hear?"

"I guess there's only one way to know for sure," Geo said. "Why don't we have a race and see?"

Shaking his fist, Jack said, "Fine, if that's what it's gonna take! I'll swim circles around all of you!"

"Um, I think I'll sit this one out," Zack muttered.

"Too late now, Zack," Pat said. "Time to see what you're really made of!"

Zack grimaced. "I already know what I'm made of, and it isn't really seaworthy…"

As they picked up the pace, Luna turned to look back at Bud. "Aren't you coming?"

Bud waved and said, "Actually, I'm expecting a call from Amy. I'll catch up!"

Luna nodded and went after the others. Bud loitered near the greenery lining the docks, but it wasn't long before his Hunter started to ring.

"Amy!" he shouted as the screen appeared.

"Hi Bud!" she replied. "Looks like you made it to Alohaha in one piece, huh?"

"Yep!" He turned so that Amy could see the shoreline. "Take a look! Isn't it great?"

"It does look nice! Though, I'm pretty sure I would melt if I went down there, haha! So did you just get in, or have you done a lot already?"

"We haven't been here long, though I did tour some shops already. You wouldn't believe the food they've got down here!"

"Ooh, tell me!"

"First I was sure to grab some of the local barbeque. Boy am I glad I didn't wait until tonight: it was some of the most delicious meat I've ever tasted! They use some kind of seasoning I guess you can only get in this region, and it was cooked just right, and covered in this sauce that's out of this world!"

"Ah, that sounds awesome!"

"Then I tried this thing, it was like, a ball of fried dough, coated in sugar. I was surprised by how good that was!"

"No kidding!"

"But the best thing I had was this special seafood skewer! I'm not 100% sure what all was on it, but the way it was prepared and how all the different tastes blended together, it was just…aw, I think I'm getting hungry again…"

"Man, maybe I _should_ try to get down there some time…" She paused and shook her head. "Well, I'm glad to hear you're having a good time! And there hasn't been any trouble?"

Bud looked up. "Uh…there was an outbreak of Noised Wizards when we showed up, but it's taken care of now."

"Oh, okay. I guess they didn't stand a chance against the one and only Taurus Fire, eh?"

"I, er, didn't get to fight them, actually. We decided it would be suspicious if we all snuck away from the class, so only one of us went, and…it was Geo."

"Oh."

A long, quiet moment passed.

"But, uh, no other trouble," Bud said, "and I'm ready to strike back if anything else does happen!"

He laughed a bit, but when he was done, Amy leaned forward and asked, "Hey Bud…what's wrong?"

"Huh? W-What do you mean?"

"Whenever you talk about Geo lately, you get kind of…awkward. Is there something going on between you two?"

"What? No, of course not! Geo and I are Brothers—no way anything could come between us!"

Amy crossed her arms and squinted.

"…I mean…"

A grunt came from Bud's Hunter. "Bud, you should tell her."

"Is that Taurus?" Amy asked. "Tell me what?"

"It's nothing!" Bud insisted. "There's nothing to tell, really. I'm really happy for Geo! He's come a real long way in such a short time, and he's way more confident now, and he's become super valuable to the team! He's my Brother, so of course I'm happy for him, even if…"

He looked at the ground. Amy waited.

"…even if…part of me, might be kinda…jealous."

He sighed.

"I dunno. It's like, we trained _together_ , you know? And he got way more out of it than I did. I've been trying so hard for so long, and in months he was able to pull ahead. Heck, even before he really got serious, he was kind of more useful in big fights than I was, when I think about it."

"Bud," Amy said, her expression softening considerably. "You can't judge yourself based just on how useful you are in a fight."

"I know," Bud said, nodding. "I know, really. But it's still frustrating. I really _am_ happy for Geo, but it still hurts to see just how much better than me he is at this. Like…he's just got talent for it that I don't have. Makes me feel like all the work I've been putting in doesn't really amount to much in the end."

Amy took a moment to absorb what he was saying. "I can kind of relate. Whenever someone beats me in skiing, I honestly feel happy for them, but I always want to kick myself for not doing better. Still, though, I don't ever feel like the work I've put in was a waste. I enjoy seeing myself improve, even if it isn't at the same rate as someone else. I might not be as good as I could be, but I'm still better than I was, and I feel like that has to count for something. You know?"

"…I guess."

"Bud…I want you to know that I don't think you've wasted any time. Because of the work you've done, you've been able to help plenty of people—including me. So I think it definitely counts for something." She grinned. "Then again, I might be a little biased."

Bud chuckled. "Thanks, Amy. I'll try to remember that."

"Good. Now go enjoy your vacation! And see if you can smuggle some of that food back with you, I'm not going to be able to get it out of my head until I can try it myself!"

"I'll see what I can do!" Bud said, giving a thumbs-up. "Talk to you later!"

"Bye-bye!"

The call ended. Taking a deep breath, Bud turned and looked out at the ocean.

"What did I tell you, Bud?" Taurus asked.

"Yeah, I know, I should've talked to someone about it sooner."

"Mrrgh! That's right! Now with that out of the way, it's time to find our path forward! I won't give up if you won't."

Bud nodded. "Right. I can't give up yet. Thanks for everything, Taurus."

* * *

Sonia sat on the Wave Road above the beach, keeping a lookout for anything out of the ordinary. Night had fallen, and the Echo Ridge students were gathered around a fire pit below, chatting excitedly as they ate.

"Messages from Claud and Kidd," Lyra said. "They've yet to find anything suspicious in their areas."

Sonia crossed her arms. "Hmmmm. We haven't seen a single trace of Dealer since the incident earlier, but that almost makes me _more_ nervous."

"I think you should relax a bit, dear. Everyone's safe at the moment. See for yourself."

Sonia looked down at the class, picking her friends out of the crowd. Bud was tearing through a plate of meat, and nearby, Jack was eating with nearly equal enthusiasm. Zack cheered them on, but Geo and Pat hung back, eating their food at a healthier pace. And Luna…

For some reason, Luna was at the edge of the group, gripping her Hunter and breathing deeply as if she were preparing for something. Sonia tapped her fingers against her arm.

 _...I might not have it all figured out, but…I can't stand putting this off anymore._

She reached for her guitar screen, but it beeped before she could do anything. Taking a look, she saw an alert that she had a new message from Luna. She looked back—Luna was walking away from the group now, towards a secluded dock further up the shore. Confused, Sonia quickly checked the message.

"Where are you right now?"

Sonia typed in her reply: "Just above you. What's up?"

Luna's reply was fast. "I want to see you. No one should bother us out on the dock. Please?"

Sonia hesitated for a moment, but then she pushed it aside and steeled herself. "Sure, I'll be right there."

She made her way down, not undoing her Wave Change until she was right at the dock. Her steps slowed a bit, but she didn't stop. Luna stood at the edge of the dock looking at the water—there were only a few lanterns lining the platform, but the moon provided more than enough light to make her out in the darkness. She turned as Sonia drew closer.

"Hi," she said quietly.

"Hi."

Sonia came up next to her. They both sat down facing the water, letting their feet hang over the edge. For a time, they just sat there, neither saying a word, until eventually Luna took a very deep breath.

"I-I-I th-think we…" She cut herself off, cleared her throat, and started again. "I think we have some stuff we…need to talk about."

Sonia nodded slowly. "Yeah. I was thinking that too."

Luna bit her lip. Turning, she said, "Sonia…I know I've been coming off as sort of cold for a while now. I'm really sorry about that."

Sonia turned. "What? No, I wouldn't say you've been cold! Just…I just thought you needed a bit more time, that's all."

"Either way, I can tell it's been bothering you."

Sonia looked down.

"I haven't been acting like this because I want to," Luna said, wringing her hands. "There's…this fear inside me that keeps getting in the way. It's overwhelming, and I try to ignore it, but I just keep running away to escape it. But…I guess it ends up looking like I'm running away from you. So I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too," Sonia said. "I can see that you're struggling with this, but…I keep trying to push things forward."

Luna shifted. "Y…yeah. You have seemed pretty eager."

"I know I shouldn't push so hard, but I…it's like I've got this compulsive _need_ , and I can't hold back, and…" She shook her head. "No, whatever it is, it's wrong. If I keep acting so selfishly, then it's no wonder I scare you. I'm sorry, Luna."

Luna seemed to relax a little. She reached out with one hand, brushing it against Sonia's; Sonia turned her hand over and let Luna take it.

"I'll accept your apology if you accept mine," she said.

Sonia looked up. "Are…are you really sure? I mean, I'd understand if—"

Luna tugged on her hand, cutting her off. "I don't want to just quit. We've both made mistakes, but…I know we can get past this. That we still have a future, as long as we're both willing to keep working for it."

Sonia stared at her.

"Do you…feel the same?"

"Y-Yes, of course!" Sonia said, nodding. "Of course, Luna, I…" She paused, chuckling a little. "You really are incredible. I promise I'll try harder to make this work."

"Good," Luna said. "And I promise to do the same thing."

"Great."

"First things first," Luna said. "From now on, whenever we're worried about anything, let's be sure to talk about it right away. This has been exhausting."

Sonia smiled. "Definitely. I'll try not to wait so long next time."

"Neither will I."

They both looked ahead, watching the waves come in.

"What's next…really is kind of scary," Luna said.

"If you're not ready, then I'll wait. And I'll do a better job of it. The last thing I want to do is make you uncomfortable, Luna."

She thought for a moment. "Thank you. But, the only real reason I have to stay here is that I'm afraid. I've had enough of doing what fear wants. So, even if it is scary…what I want is…"

Sonia turned to look at her. Even in the dark, she could tell the other girl was blushing.

"Sonia," Luna started. "I want to stop letting things get between us. I want to be totally open with you, because…because I know I can trust you with everything that I am. Y-You should already know the reasons why, so…I'm just going to say it, okay?"

Luna turned to look Sonia in the eye. Sonia felt her heart pound.

"Sonia…I love you."

Hearing those words, Sonia was overcome with joy. She could feel it surge through her body, bringing a smile to her face and tears to her eyes. Clasping both her hands around Luna's, she said, "I love you too, Luna."

Luna grinned, her eyes starting to water as well. They both giggled and took a moment to dry their eyes, and then, after a short pause, Luna started to lean towards Sonia. Sonia moved as well, careful to be sure she wasn't going too fast. The anticipation turned seconds into hours, but when they finally kissed, both were sure that the wait had been entirely worth it.

"Wow," Luna breathed.

Sonia giggled. She slid closer to Luna, weaving her arm together with hers, and gently rested her head on her shoulder. Luna rested her head against hers.

"I might still struggle a bit," Luna said.

"I'm sure I will too," Sonia said.

"Hm. I guess it's alright, then. No, I'm sure it will be."

Sonia closed her eyes. For a moment, it was like everything else faded away, and the entire world was just the dock where she and Luna sat together. The pain she'd felt for so long was gone, and in its place was a sense of closeness and affection greater than anything she'd ever felt before. It was the peace she had been looking for.

 _She loves me. She actually, really loves me. It feels so good to be loved again._

* * *

The halls of Alohaha Castle were lit only by the glow that came from its exhibits, the only sound being an occasional beeping coming from the environmental system. Standing before the console were two figures, one tall and engrossed in a screen projected from her terminal, the other short and glaring at the wall.

The tall one turned, breaking the silence with, "The preparations are complete. Once Strong exits hibernation, we shall act."

Her companion grunted.

"…There will be no turning back."

He looked up. "What? I know that."

"You do not fully realize." She flashed a Noise Card. "The coding on this card is incredibly complex. We cannot reduce this one to a feral beast, but we cannot leave his base personality intact, therefore we will need to completely rewrite who this Wizard is to make him capable of wreaking havoc."

"I know, sis, King went over it."

"And now that he has installed a Noise Filter, we have needed to enhance the corruptive power by a factor of 300%. As a result of all this, the programming nearly exceeds the data limit of this card…meaning there is no room left for the memory hack."

He said nothing.

"Let me be clear, Jack. When Harp Note defeats Club Strong and reverts him to normal, he will remember seeing us. Our undercover assignment will be over for good."

Jack scoffed. "About time! I'm sick of these losers—I'm more than ready to show our power and start kicking them around!"

Tia stared at her brother.

"…What? You think I'm going to chicken out or something?! I'm not going to give up when we're so close to getting our wish! Let 'em know we're from Dealer!" He turned and shoved his hands into his pockets. "I…I don't care."

Tia waited a few more moments, and then turned back to her screen. Neither said another word until the environmental system started to hum. With a flash, Strong emerged from the system, and he immediately took note of his visitors.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. "The castle is closed. I'm afraid I must ask you to leave the premises."

"We will," Tia said. "This shouldn't take long."

Taking one last glance at Jack, she hurled the card at Strong. She waited patiently until the Wizard's screams of agony died down before examining the results of the mutation. Strong's body was many times larger now, his rock-like form now sporting a patchy layer of moss. His blocky shoulders were far more pronounced, and his head sat lower between them, his massive, jagged-edged maw left hanging open. Strong looked at his now enormous hands as he processed the change, and then reached out: a gigantic wooden club appeared in his grip, and he grinned hideously as he hefted it.

"This is…some serious power," he said, his rumbling voice sounding like thunder.

"Strong, guardian deity of Alohaha," Tia said. "You have spent so many years protecting these worthless people, and what have you gained from it? What deity makes himself a slave to his people? With the power that you possess, the people should not simply command you…they should fear you."

"Fear me? Heh, I like the sound of that." Strong turned slightly, looking back in the direction of the environmental system. "Y'know, I think I know just the way to make that happen. Heheh…yeah. By this time tomorrow, I'll be living like a real god!"

With that he disappeared into the system. Jack stalked out of the castle without another word, and Tia did nothing to stop him.

* * *

Notes:

Not as long a wait this time, that's good. Then again, this chapter ended up being kind of short. Hmmm.

Here we get at what's troubling Bud this time around. At one point I considered actually having Amy here, but just doing a phone call seemed a lot simpler. She will be making a proper reappearance soon, though!

And, at long last, Sonia and Luna have gotten their relationship back on track. I'm sure _nothing_ terrible will happen to ruin this moment. Can't think of anything that could go wrong now. Nope, not a thing.

Next chapter is the long-awaited battle with Club Strong, and…something else. You know what it is. It's going to be an important chapter.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Sonia had a new spring in her step as she came down the Wave Road. Claud and Kidd were waiting near Alohaha Castle, and turned to greet her as she closed in.

"Morning, guys!" Sonia said. "How're you doing today?"

"Nothing new to report," Kidd said. "Though, I think we'd best stay on our toes."

"You're sure in a good mood today, Sonia," Claud said. "What've you been up to?"

Grinning, Sonia said, "Not much really—I just finally got to spend some time with my girlfriend is all."

 _Gosh I love being able to say that._

"Ah, so that's it!" Claud said. "But hey, don't forget to spend a little time with us before you head back!"

Sonia laughed and set a hand on Claud's head. "Of course I won't—you're my Brother, after all! Now let's do our best to keep this place Noise-free!"

"You got it!" Claud said, saluting.

Beneath them, the Echo Ridge students were gathering in the plaza, with Shepar keeping a close eye to make sure no one wandered off. Luna was brimming with energy; she faced the group and said, "Isn't this exciting? This sort of opportunity only comes around every so often!"

"I am looking forward to learning more about the environmental system," Geo said. "It's remarkable how much it's evolved over the years—makes you wonder what it could be able to do in the future."

Luna turned to Jack, who was staring off in the opposite direction, hands firmly in his pockets. "We'll also be learning about Alohaha's history, so you'd better pay attention, Jack!"

Jack whirled, wide-eyed. "What?! Why me?"

"It's probably going to be on our next exam. We've still got to improve that history grade of yours!"

"O-Oh…right," Jack mumbled. He quickly turned away.

"…Jack, are you okay?" Pat asked. "You seem kind of distracted."

"What do you mean?" Jack snapped. "I'm perfectly fine, I was just…" As he trailed off, he caught sight of Tia: she was standing a few steps away from Shepar, watching the class with a totally blank expression. Calming himself, Jack said, "…It's nothing. Just forget about it."

Before anyone could question him, Shepar called, "Alright class! It's about time for us to head in!"

As the class slowly made their way inside the castle, Sonia, Claud, and Kidd proceeded along the Road towards the environmental system. Lyra muttered, "Oh."

"Hm?" Sonia said. "What is it, Lyra?"

"I'm detecting Noise. Curious I wasn't picking it up earlier, it feels like quite a bit…"

"What, it's in here?" Claud said. "No way! Strong would've smashed any Dealers who tried to make trouble in his house."

"Curious indeed," Kidd said. "Perhaps something was done while Lord Strong was away?"

Sonia scanned the room. "Can you tell where it's coming from, Lyra?"

The class came to a stop before the system's console. Shepar took one step forward and said, "Excuse me, Strong? It's the Echo Ridge class—we were scheduled to do a tour today."

"Oh no," Lyra said. "This can't be good at all…"

Without any warning, the ground began to shake. Claud said, "W-What is that? An earthquake?!"

"Impossible," Kidd said. "The environmental system should prevent such occurrences."

"I'm afraid that won't be the case today," Lyra said. "The system is where all the Noise is coming from!"

Sonia froze. "What?!"

Shepar stumbled backwards, trying to regain his footing. "What the…class, is everyone still here? Don't panic! We need to make our way back outside and find someplace safe!"

A thunderous laugh echoed through the castle. In a bright flash of light, Club Strong appeared, his form so massive he barely fit in the building; he looked down at the class with an air of smugness, and shook his head.

"There is no safety!" he said. "All of Alohaha is mine!"

Claud's jaw dropped. "Is…is that…Strong?"

"People of Alohaha!" Strong bellowed. "Your deity has been reborn, stronger than ever before! But my days of playing guardian to you weaklings are over!"

"No," Kidd whispered. "No, Lord Strong would never behave this way…"

"This is just a taste of what I can do—if I wanted, I could sink this entire island into the sea! So if you don't want that to happen, you better come up with a way to appease me, heheh!"

Sonia watched as he spoke, totally stunned. "But…I gave him a Filter. Did he not install it?"

"I'll be waiting! You know where to find me! Hahahaha!"

Strong vanished just as quickly as he had appeared. The class was in full panic now, most of them bolting for the door. Shepar's gaze lingered a moment where Strong had been, but he quickly pulled himself together and followed the kids, doing his best to keep them together. Tia, calm as ever, tapped Jack on the shoulder, and the two of them slipped away in the confusion. Luna, Geo, Pat, Bud, and Zack remained in the castle, and Geo got out his Hunter.

"Sonia?"

Turning, she put a hand against the side of her helmet that the mic extended from. "Geo? Is everyone okay down there?"

"Yeah, we're fine. Didn't you say that you gave Strong a Noise Filter?"

"I did! I don't know how this—"

"The important thing," Lyra interrupted, "is that it _is_ happening, and now we must deal with it. Shall we proceed into the system?"

"Hold on," Luna said. "Shouldn't some of us go help deal with the earthquake? Some people might be in real danger!"

"Perhaps," Ophiuca said, "though we would be splitting our forces…"

"Bah, no need to worry about that!" Mega said. "I'm sure each one of us is tough enough to handle this guy! So who's going where?"

Sonia looked to Kidd and Claud. Both were still staring at the environmental system, oblivious to the conversation around them.

 _It makes sense: Strong was really important to them, so they don't know how to handle this big of a change. I can't ask them to fight him._

"Claud, Kidd," she said. They snapped out of their trance. "You two know this place the best, so I think you'd be our best choices for keeping the people safe."

"Uh…yeah," Claud said, "we can do that."

Hesitantly, Kidd said, "Are you certain…you won't need our help freeing Lord Strong?"

Sonia smiled. "Positive. Just leave it to us!"

"We'll be up in just a second, Sonia!" Bud said.

Geo moved to end the call, but Sonia said, "Wait. Geo…with your Mega Attack, you'd be able to get in and out of difficult places really quickly. I think you should go with Claud and Kidd."

"Really?" he said. "Are you sure the three of you will be okay?"

Bud scowled. "Hey, the three of us are more than enough! I'll singe the moss right off that guy's butt!"

"I'm sure we'll manage," Luna said. "Now get a move on! We can't afford to waste more time debating!"

"Alright," Geo said. "Good luck. Pat, Zack, let's get you back to the class."

Pat nodded, but Zack said, "I might be able to help! If I access the environmental system from here, then maybe—"

A particularly violent tremor shook the castle.

"But Strong's the one holding the admin privileges," Geo said. "You're good, Zack, but against that I don't think even you will be able to gain much headway."

Zack looked down. "Right…"

"If everything's settled," Lyra said, "then let's not delay any further, yes?"

Sonia nodded and ran for the environmental system's access point, warping inside the system while the others ran to complete their own tasks. Strong waited inside, surrounded by screens that were constantly scrolling with massive amounts of data, all while a faint siren could be heard blaring.

"ERROR, ERROR," an automated voice repeated over and over.

"Damn thing won't shut up," Strong said. "So you showed up after all, Harp Note! Good—I wanted someone to test my new power, and you were the best choice!"

Sonia initiated a transformation to Taurus Noise, the amount of Noise in the system so immense she was able to immediately increase the connection to 50%. "Strong, what happened? This isn't like you at all! Did Dealer get to you before you could install the Filter?"

"Oh I installed it alright. But the card they used was so powerful it broke the program to bits! And now…" He hefted his club. "That kind of power is mine! I wonder how long it'll take me to smash you into pieces, hahahaha!"

"Well, that's an important bug report we'll have to get back to Mr. Boreal," Lyra commented.

"You're going to hurt the people of Alohaha if you keep this up," Sonia said. "Don't you still care about them?"

"Of course not! Those pathetic humans have nothing to offer me."

Sonia sighed. "I guess I won't be able to reason with you…"

Bud and Luna finally arrived, coming to either side of Sonia and readying themselves for battle. Luna said, "You mentioned he was already tough, and I know Noise Cards provide quite a boost. How bad do you think this is going to be?"

Sonia looked at her and smiled. "I'm not worried."

Strong frowned. "Feh. If you're going to be like that, maybe I should give you something to warmup on!"

He reached for one of the many screens floating around, smashing a giant finger onto a button. The lion statues that lined the Wave Road glowed briefly, and then began to move, slowly stepping forward to surround the intruders.

"No time for small fries!" Bud said, already burning red-hot. "Come on, Strong: you and me! Let's settle this before anyone gets hurt!"

Without waiting for a response, Bud charged forward. Sonia tried to stop him, but the statues took the opportunity to launch their attack, several of them pouncing on her and Luna at once. Luna used her eyebeams to shatter one of them, meanwhile Sonia flung one backwards with a punch.

"He's always so impatient," Luna said. The snakes on her arms shot a series of blasts at the ground between her and the statues, creating a wide swath of purple muck to encourage them to keep their distance.

Sonia shot a fireball into the mass, and a second later, chunks of stone were flying everywhere. "If it works, I certainly won't complain."

Bud rushed right up to Strong and threw a vicious uppercut at the Wizard's jaw. The leaping blow connected, making Strong take a half-step back, and before Bud even landed he shot a blast of intense flame at his foe. The resulting smokescreen completely enshrouded Strong, but judging from his grunts of pain, the move stung decently, and that was enough for Bud.

"Take that!" he shouted, pumping his fists. "Maybe you should change your name, you pushover! Haha—"

His laughter was cut short when Strong's club emerged from the cloud of smoke, ramming directly into him. The mighty blow sent Bud flying.

"Not bad," Strong said, stepping into view. "You got a good punch there, kid! Now get up and come at me again!"

"Bud!" Sonia shouted. She beat back another statue and ran to his side, but he was already getting up.

"Rats," he grunted. "Okay then, this time I won't let up!"

He barreled past Sonia, through a couple of statues, and up to Strong once more—the Wizard swung his club downward, but Bud skidded to a halt, dug in, and caught the weapon in both hands, managing to cushion the blow. Unfortunately, Strong continued to press, leaving him unable to get out from under the bludgeon. He pushed up with a mighty heave. The club lifted, and Strong punched Bud with his free hand. The boy slid back a bit, but then unleashed a volley of fire blasts that caught Strong off-guard. After stumbling a few steps backward, Strong swung his club through empty air, and the wind around Bud whipped into a miniature tornado. He was too shocked to continue his attack, and so Strong took a lumbering step forward.

Luna plowed through the last statue and fired her eyebeams at Strong, the hit just enough to make him stop. When he looked her way, he saw Sonia next to her, and she slammed her guitar into the Wave Road to call up a series of flame pillars that advanced rapidly on him. Strong endured the hit and reared back.

"Rain of Fists!"

He punched a hundred times in the span of one second. The force of each blow caused a devastating, precise shockwave to shoot forward, and the storm of blows battered Sonia, Luna, and Bud before they could figure out a way to dodge. Strong took another step to get in range of Bud, and then swung his club to flatten him.

"Heh, maybe you aren't worth my time after all, Harp Note," Strong said. "Keep playing with my pets for now."

He pressed another screen, and suddenly the statues reappeared along the edges of the Road, completely repaired. She was surprised for a moment before she resumed blasting them.

"Come on, it's not that strange! I'm the admin here—I have complete control over this system, meaning I can return it to its previous state with the press of a button! Those statues will keep coming until one of them finally makes a meal out of you!"

Sonia entangled one of them in strings, and then turned back to Strong. "You're still in there somewhere, aren't you? What part of you thinks what you're doing is right?!"

Strong laughed. "Sorry girl, but like I said: I've been reborn! I'm nothing like the old Strong, who wasted his days watching these worthless insects. All I want is power, and glory, and fear!"

She shook her head. "Darn it…all this from one card?"

As she returned to the statues, Strong looked down at Bud, who was back on his feet. He grinned and shrugged. Bud snorted, punching the ground to call up a ring of flame pillars around Strong—a low sweep of the club came for him, but he leapt high into the air and aimed at Strong's face. He shot a rocket punch, grazing his target, and then was tossed about by another tornado.

"Sonia!" Luna said. "I can handle these things! You go help Bud!"

Sonia kicked a statue back and split its head with her guitar, and then turned towards Luna. "Are you sure?"

Luna beamed. "What sort of question is that? You know better than to doubt me!"

With a giggle, Sonia jumped away from the statues and bolted for Strong. A few tried to chase her, but with a wave of her hand, Luna summoned snakes to trip the creatures up. She strafed to avoid another statue's pounce, obliterating it with a look.

"Strong!" Sonia shouted. "No matter what it takes, I'm going to free you from this!"

She shot a fireball, and Strong batted it away with his club. "What's that? I'm freer now than I've ever been! You're a bit late, Harp Note!"

Sonia rolled aside to dodge the club. Strong stepped forward and swung again, but she was able to narrowly avoid that blow as well, and shot a fireball into his face to blind him. She glanced at Bud—he bounded forward, jumped up, and punched Strong in the chest as hard as he could, letting the flame jet on his gauntlet flare up for a bit of extra push. Strong stepped back and doubled over, clutching his injury.

"Now's our chance!" Sonia shouted.

Flames surrounded her guitar as she ran forward, and she smacked Strong in the face with it. Noticing Bud wasn't joining her, however, she turned to see him breathing heavily, his armor no longer glowing with heat. The distraction cost her: Strong sent her rolling away with a kick, and then he too turned to Bud. Something that looked like a seed shot from Strong's mouth, bouncing down the Road until it collided with Bud—it broke open on contact, and a bunch of vines burst out and wrapped around the boy.

"So the two of you _can_ test my new power!" Strong said. "Good, I was beginning to get worried!"

He grabbed another screen. This time, the surface of the Road transformed into a bed of grass, and Strong grinned as he walked towards where Bud stood. Bud tried his best to break free, only for Strong to smash his club down repeatedly, leaving him in a crumpled mess on the ground. Sonia only made it a few steps before Strong summoned a tornado around her, the wind ripping up a number of grass blades and turning them into deadly razors that made the pain unbearable. She fell to her knees and paused to catch her breath.

"You okay?" Luna said, setting a hand on her shoulder.

"Starting to wish we'd brought a fourth," Sonia chuckled. "Think you can get Bud out of there? I'll handle the lions if he rebuilds them."

"I thought you'd never ask!"

Luna advanced on Strong, earning a laugh from the giant. He tapped a screen and tall wooden spikes began to spring up in Luna's path, threatening to skewer her—she wove expertly around each of them, ultimately coiling around one and riding it as it rose, letting her eyebeams slice all the way up Strong's side. With a single swing, Strong decimated the makeshift forest. Luna leapt onto his arm as it went by, slithering up closer to his face, and let her snakes pepper him with poison blasts. Strong looked annoyed now. He rotated his arm swiftly, knocking Luna loose, and then slammed her into the ground with his club.

"Luna!" Sonia shouted, jumping up. She ran forward, but Luna recovered quickly, and was now letting her snakes blast Strong's ankles while she had her eyes locked on his arms.

"I believe Bud needs our help more, dear," Lyra said.

A handful of Luna's snakes had made their way over to Bud and gnawed through the vines restraining him—he was in the process of getting up, but he looked awfully worn out. She ran to his side.

"I can't believe this," Bud grumbled. "How is he so tough? I should be doing way better than this!"

"It's okay, Bud," Sonia said. "We'll just have to keep trying until—"

Bud beat his fist against the ground. "I've been landing hit after hit, and he just keeps swatting me like a fly! Why can't I hurt him? Haven't I gotten strong enough to do that much?!"

Sonia paused. "Bud…"

A shout from Luna drew her attention. Strong had used a whirlwind to blow her away, and now several more wood towers were rising up. He swung his club, and they all snapped in two, collapsing on Luna in a pile. Without thinking, Sonia sprang forward: she dialed up the power of her guitar and played, sending a massive fireball up at Strong that erupted in a brilliant display. Sonia started for Luna, but then stopped and looked back to Bud. He was standing now, and he nodded before running at Strong once again.

"Luna!" Sonia shouted as she ran over. "Luna, are you okay?"

After she pulled aside a few of the logs, Luna was able to squeeze her way out, leaning on Sonia for support as she rose. "Thanks," she said. "How's Bud doing?"

Her question was answered when he crashed into the pile of wood behind her. They all turned to Strong, realizing he was rearing back his fist again, and Sonia quickly moved to get in front of Luna. Another Rain of Fists came down on them, though Luna came out nearly unscathed. Sonia, on the other hand, slumped on the ground.

"Sonia!" Luna exclaimed. She gently took hold of the other girl, trying to steady her.

"What a waste," Strong said. "If you saw it coming, you should've saved yourself! Now you've just wasted your endurance—you won't be as much of a challenge now, and that girl's no replacement!"

Glaring up at him, Luna said, "I was doing pretty well a moment ago, in case you've forgotten!"

Sonia laughed weakly. "You tell him…"

With a roar, Bud rose once again. Picking up one of the logs, he hurled it through the air at Strong, managing to deal a blow to his shoulder. While Strong was stunned, Bud exhaled a huge amount of flames that washed over the grass in front of them, burning it all away and covering Strong as well. The Wizard shouted, and Bud staggered forward. Luna used the chance to help Sonia to her feet.

"We need to finish this fast," Sonia said. "Get ready!"

Strong came charging out of the flames with his club held high. He swung downward, cracking the Wave Road on impact—luckily everyone was able to get out of the way. Sonia used a series of quick blasts to draw his attention, and when he turned, Luna's eyebeams hit him in the face, sending him stumbling back towards Bud. Rushing at his foe's foot with all his might, Bud collided with the hunk of rock and pushed, causing Strong to lose his balance and topple over. Sonia and Luna immediately unloaded everything they had, with Bud joining them as soon as he found a safe place to stand. Strong tried to get up, but it was no use: his bulky body made the task a difficult one, and the constant pain made it impossible for him to concentrate. He yelled in rage, and reached out with his free hand.

"We're almost there!" Sonia said. "Just a bit longer, and we'll have you back to normal, Strong!"

Strong clenched his teeth. "That's what you think!"

His finger just barely brushed the screen he was straining for. At once, an intense rain storm kicked up within the system, blowing Luna back in surprise and extinguishing the flames of Sonia and Bud. For Sonia the pain stopped when her transformation went down a stage—for Bud, it persisted.

"Heheh…" Strong chuckled, finally getting into a better position. "You had me worried for a second there. I knew you'd let me really see what this new power can do, Harp Note."

Sonia fumbled for her guitar and began blasting Strong, trying to keep him down. "This isn't your power! If that was enough to beat us, you wouldn't need to manipulate the system like this!"

Strong pushed himself upright, looking more annoyed than damaged. "…Not what I hoped for, maybe…but the point is, I still win."

Luna fired her eyebeams at Strong's feet, creating a thick layer of stone to try to anchor him. It took some effort, but he broke free, and the first thing he did was create one massive tornado that scattered the three of them.

"The people won't know any better," Strong said. "All they'll see is that I've bested the legendary Harp Note in battle! That should be more than enough to scare everyone into line!"

Sonia grabbed her head—it was still spinning. She tried to find her guitar, but she wasn't sure where it was. "Listen to yourself, Strong. I know you don't really think that! They've reprogrammed you, changed who you were! Doesn't that bother you?"

"Not that much, no. I'm enjoying myself too much!"

Strong felt something at his ankles. Looking down, he saw several snakes biting him, and brushed them away. He took a step towards a screen.

"That's enough fun for now, though. I'll just destroy you all at once."

Sonia forced herself to sit up. She spotted her guitar, but wasn't sure she could reach it in time. She moved anyway, but as she did, she heard Bud shouting, and once the instrument was in her hand she was able to look. Burning red-hot once more, Bud had landed a rocket punch directly in Strong's face, and was now running in to continue the assault, his aura of heat turning all the rain around him into steam before it could touch him. Sonia ran to where Luna was. Strong took a swing, but Bud rammed right into the weapon and sent it spinning out of its owner's hand. Luna and Sonia both took aim, and when Bud shot a focused beam of flame up at Strong, they added attacks of their own to floor their opponent once more.

"ERROR," the automated voice continued, "ERROR, ERROR, ERR—ANOMALY DETECTED. SYSTEM MALFUNCTION. INITIALIZING SYSTEM…"

The rain stopped. The statues reappeared, but they were mere statues once more. Strong groaned horribly, and in a burst of green, his massive body evaporated to leave his original self lying there. Sonia sighed heavily.

"It's over."

Bud collapsed next to Strong. "Yikes…that was rough…"

"No complaining," Luna ordered. "We won, didn't we? Now come on: we need to be sure the earthquake has stopped."

She and Sonia made their way over, and each put one of Strong's arms around their shoulder so they could lift him. Bud managed to get on his feet before much longer, and the group slowly but surely made their way back to the Real World, happy to see it was no longer shaking. After setting Strong down, everyone undid their Wave Changes and took a seat.

"Thanks for your help," Sonia said. "Though I guess it's not much of a vacation if you end up having to work, is it?"

Luna shook her head. "It's not as if I'd prioritize our vacation over everyone's safety! Besides…" She fidgeted a bit, and then finished, "It's more time I get to spend with you."

Sonia smiled, taking Luna's hand. "…We really need to have more dates that don't involve our lives being in danger."

"Hehe, I'm going to hold you to that! You'd better come up with something nice."

"Alright, leave it to me!"

A beep from Sonia's guitar interrupted them. A message from Geo had arrived, saying that no one was seriously injured; Sonia told him Strong was back to normal, and that they were waiting at the castle until he woke up. Geo's reply asked if any Crimson had appeared.

"Oh, I forgot about that," Sonia said. "Do you think it's still in there?"

"I suppose we should check," Luna said, not sounding very thrilled about the idea. "Though even if there is, what are we going to do with it?"

As the two of them got up, Strong began to stir. His eyes slowly opened, and he looked around before finally getting up. Sonia said, "You're awake. How are you feeling?"

Strong stared at her for a moment. "…Was it…a dream?"

She averted her eyes.

"I see." Strong put a hand over his face. "How shameful. To think that I would say such things—that I would put the people of Alohaha in danger, and simply for my own ego."

"Don't blame yourself," Luna said. "You weren't in your right mind—whatever happened to you, you came out of it completely brainwashed! This wasn't your fault, Strong."

Facing her, he said, "Still…I cannot forgive myself so easily. But, tell me, why did those agents of Dealer come here with you?"

"…What?"

"The two who corrupted me were with your class earlier."

"Excuse me? We'd know if someone from Dealer was in our class—you must be mistaken."

"No, I'm sure of it. The boy in the dark coat, and that stoic young woman. It was definitely them who did this."

Luna blinked. "…Jack…and Tia…?"

She and Sonia looked to each other, a deep sense of dread filling them both. Sonia murmured, "That would…explain how they always know where we are. Jack was at the studio, and they were both at the rocket launch, too."

"B-But…that can't be!" Bud said, leaping to his feet. "Sure Jack's a bit of a jerk, but he can't be with Dealer! He…he just can't…"

Luna put a hand over her mouth. "They did show up right before all this started…oh no. This is terrible!"

"Where are they now?" Sonia asked. "Still with the class?"

She turned to leave, but stopped short. Someone was entering the castle: a very tall, broad-shouldered man with dark skin, wearing a burgundy-colored coat and narrow sunglasses.

"Um, sir, it's still not safe here!" Sonia said. "You should go find shelter in case there's an aftershock!"

The man came about half-way across the room before he stopped. "Pathetic. And you dare to call yourself 'Strong'?"

Coming forward, Strong said, "My deepest apologies. The environmental system is functioning again—I assure you that everyone is safe once more."

Luna tugged on Sonia's sleeve. "Let Strong talk to him. We need to warn the others!"

Reluctantly, Sonia nodded. She and Luna began to make their way out as the man went on, "I had high hopes for you. But in the end, you're just as weak as all the other pawns. At least this time, I am permitted to erase your miserable existence."

A chill crept up Sonia's spine. She looked back to see the man making a fist, and shouted in confusion as he punched Strong. The Wizard's face contorted in agony…and then he was gone. Several orbs of light flew outward from where he had been—at first she wasn't sure what they were, but soon it came to her. That was all that remained of Strong.

"…What…?"

From where he stood at the back of the castle, Bud ran towards the man. "You…how could you?! That was a cheap shot, you—"

The man made a sweeping blow with his arm, knocking Bud out instantly. "You and he are no different: weaklings claiming you have strength. Count yourself lucky that my orders don't include you."

"H-Hey!" Luna shouted. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"Bud…" Sonia mumbled. "Strong…!"

The man looked over his shoulder at them for a second. Turning back, he reached into his coat and drew out a tube-like device, and twisted one end of it. Clouds of Crimson came streaming out of the environmental system and into the device, filling it until it was completely blood-red. He tucked the item back into his coat, and then he faced Sonia.

"So _you're_ the one they chose to replace me," he said. "Hmph. You may have shown some strength in the past, but the power of the Meteor Server is not for the faint of heart. I'm insulted that mother would even consider you."

Sonia struggled to process what was happening. There were so many questions flying through her mind that she couldn't pick one to grab onto, and so she just stood there, gaping at this mysterious person who had appeared.

"Sonia?" Luna asked, grabbing her shoulder. "Sonia, we have to do something!"

Sonia swallowed hard. "R…right. I'll stay here, and you go find…"

She turned at the sound of footsteps. Jack and Tia were entering the castle now, looking right past her at the man in the coat.

"Joker," Tia said. "Collecting Crimson is our assignment. We shall be the ones to hand that over to Mr. King."

"You were about to miss your chance," he said. "Take it if you want. But Mr. King would have been most displeased if you had let any Crimson be taken from us through your inaction."

 _Joker?_ Sonia thought. _…Does that mean…_

Luna turned to look at Jack. "Jack? Ms. Tia? So…it's really true?"

Jack scratched the back of his head, looking to the side. "Yeesh, why did you still have to be here? You're so obnoxious."

"Sonia," Lyra said. "They have us surrounded. We should Wave Change quickly before—"

She stopped as a shrill laugh was heard. A Wizard materialized next to Tia: most of her body was made of clear blue water, with bits of gray and dark pink armor holding her together. "You should listen to your friend, little girl! It won't be any fun to kill you if you don't put up a fight, kyahahaha!"

Lyra emerged with a shocked look. "Virgo?! What are you doing here?"

The Wizard cocked her head. "Huh? Have we met? I don't remember you, so you must not have left much of an impact…"

Ophiuca came out next, leveling a deadly glare at Virgo. "My my. And here I was hoping Cepheus might've finally captured you. I suppose I should've known better than to be so optimistic."

Sonia's sick feeling only grew worse. "Wait, are you saying this is an FM-ian?"

Ophiuca nodded. "Virgo here used to be an elite solider, much like we were."

"We're nothing like her!" Lyra spat. "This psychotic wretch liked killing a little too much, and when her commanding officer finally said something about it, she killed him too. She's been a fugitive ever since."

"And it's been a blast!" Virgo said. "Especially lately, with how much easier it's gotten to kill people—right, Corvus?"

Another Wizard emerged from Jack's pendant: his black armor resembled a bird of prey, with wild orange energy filling in the gaps. Showing his teeth through a smirk, he said, "You know it! So, this is the great Harp Note we've heard so much about? Shouldn't Mega be around here too? I heard you were inseparable."

 _This is bad,_ Sonia thought. _We're still tired from fighting Strong, and we'll need to protect Bud as well._

"You want to save them, don't you?"

Sonia turned slightly. Joker had come closer without her realizing it, and she only now realized how much he towered over her. She wanted to face him, to say something, but she couldn't—she was trembling with fear.

"Pathetic. So much power could be yours, and you'd squander it protecting weaklings. If they don't have the power to protect themselves, then they don't deserve to exist."

Luna clenched her fists and glared up at him. "Where do you get off saying garbage like that? Get out of here before we show you just how wrong you are!"

Joker sneered. "Excuse me?"

Luna turned back to Jack. "And you! How can you work with a guy like this, to say nothing of FM-ian criminals! I thought we were finally starting to get along, Jack! Was all of this just a game to you?"

Scowling at her, Jack said, "O-Of course it was! Gosh, you are so dense! Shut up for once in your life, will you? I've half a mind to—"

"Jack," Tia said. "Calm down."

Jack looked at her for a moment, and then turned aside.

"I dunno," Corvus said, "this girl's getting on my nerves too. I say we just axe the lot of them right now!"

Virgo laughed. "Oh, that sounds like _so_ much fun! Can we, Tia? Can we?"

"Out of the question," Tia said. "Mr. King has given us strict orders."

"Oh, boo! I'm sure we can collect plenty of Crimson without them!"

Ignoring her, Tia looked back to Joker. "Don't you have somewhere to be?"

"My target has yet to arrive," Joker said. "I hope, for your sake, that this event was enough to draw him out."

Luna whirled, ready to snap at him, but caught sight of Sonia. The other girl hadn't moved an inch. "…Sonia?"

 _What do I do?_ Sonia thought. _I don't want to let them get away, but we really can't afford a fight right now!_

"Sonia," Luna said. "I know this is a surprise, but we have to do something!"

"What can you do?" Joker asked. "You are the weakest one here."

"Give it a rest!" Luna said. "I'm sick of hearing that from you, and I'm not going to let you get away—not after what you did to Strong!"

Sonia took a deep breath. Turning around finally, she said, "She's right. How could you just delete him like that? He was no threat to you!"

"That is precisely why I deleted him," Joker said. "Weaklings annoy me. Weaklings who think they're strong…they infuriate me."

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Is strength all that matters to you? That sounds like a pretty miserable way to live."

"I'll say!" Luna chimed in. "You'll have to seriously rethink things once we put you in your place!"

Joker gritted his teeth. "You two?"

Pain. That was all Sonia processed at first—it took her a moment to realize she had been flung into the wall, and a moment more to realize that it was Joker's arm that had flung her.

"You two are the ones who need to learn your place."

"Sonia!" Luna shouted, running towards her.

Sonia looked up at Luna as she approached. Behind her, Joker pulled back his fist, and her eyes widened. "Luna, watch—"

It happened in the blink of an eye, faster than anyone could attempt to stop it. Yet at the same time, to Sonia, that single moment lasted forever. Joker drove his fist into Luna's back, knocking her forward. But she never hit the ground. Her body dissolved into a mass of light, one that broke into a dozen tiny pieces that each soared off in a different direction, leaving nothing but empty space where there was just a living, breathing girl. Corvus and Virgo seemed amused; Ophiuca, Lyra, and Jack stared on in shock; even Tia's eyes widened, just a little. Sonia felt something sharp in her heart, followed by an all-consuming numbness.

"…Lu…na…?"

Joker turned and walked out of the castle. Tia said, "You were not permitted to kill her."

"She annoyed me," Joker said. "I will discuss the matter with Mr. King later. Right now, I have other duties to attend to."

He left without another word. Tia waited a moment, but then recalled Virgo and tapped Jack's shoulder. Jack stared up at her with a mix of emotions on his face. She spun him around and gently led him out, Corvus following with a snicker not soon after. Lyra and Ophiuca slowly floated over to Sonia.

"…What…happened…?" Sonia asked. Her gaze was fixed on the point where Luna had stood. "W-Where…where is…she?"

Lyra closed her eyes. "Oh Sonia…"

"Luna?" Sonia called, getting to her feet. "Luna, you…what…where…"

Ophiuca pulled her arms around herself tightly. "Sonia, Luna is…she's…"

Sonia took a step forward. None of it felt real, she thought—it couldn't be real, she told herself. She knew that if she just reached out, Luna would be there. So, she reached out. And her hand moved through empty air.

"…Th-This is some kind of dream," Sonia stammered. "Y-Yeah, th-that's…all…Luna's fine, right, she's…she's just…"

"Sonia!" Lyra shouted.

Sonia turned to look at her. She turned to Ophiuca next. Finally, she looked back at the empty space in front of her, and the numbness wore off all at once.

"…Luna…"

Her emotions washed over her like a typhoon.

"Luna…!"

She shuddered and fell to her knees.

"LUNA!"

She was gone, Sonia realized at last. And all she could do was scream.

* * *

Notes:

-Awesome! I got through this entire scenario without saying "Alola"! Haha…what's that? Oh, uh, right. Sad times. Sorry.

-When I added the mic to Harp Note's helmet I thought it might enable her to make quick long-range communication, or at least tie into calls if she didn't want to pull up a screen. Not sure how often this will show up in the story, but I wanted her to use it at least once.

-I almost did have all six Wave Change-users fight Strong at once. But, I thought that would get a bit messy, plus, uh…I wasn't sure which Noise Change to have Geo use. Taurus or Libra would've been redundant, if I use Cygnus now that problem will come up later, I don't know that I'll ever be able to justify anyone using Corvus…eh, I think it worked out for the best. We'll save the larger-scale battles for a little later.

-Incorporating Strong's stage gimmick directly, with the floor falling out constantly, would've been a bit too much in my opinion. I felt the restoration function that brings the pathways back gave me more to work with, and that having Strong retain greater control over the space was a good way to explain it. I also thought having this hulking brute hop around the battlefield would look weird in this context, so I opted for the approach of him being so resilient he doesn't (think he) need(s) to dodge. His power level is just too high…!

-I was intentionally vague on describing Rain of Fists before because I wasn't entirely sure how to do so—my initial thought was identical to Rogue's Flying Knuckle (or whatever it's called, the rapid fist-shooting attack), but I didn't want to copy-paste a move like that if I didn't have to. This isn't a whole lot different, really, but at least it's a variation. Come to think of it, why did they give Strong a named attack if his boss form wasn't going to use it? That's weird.

-We were told that Corvus and Mega "had an axe to grind", but they never really gave us much detail. That's something I want to address, and I also want to give Virgo more relevance, which will be more apparent once we have time to settle down and discuss things. We, uh…didn't really have time to explain it all right now…

-So, yeah, not a very happy note to end on, but a good cliffhanger is nice every once in a while, right? Right? I'll, uh…I'll get started on chapter 13.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

The doors burst open as Rosa stormed into the room. Slamming her hands down on the table, she whispered, "Damn you, Walters…"

Boreal entered next, approaching her cautiously. "R-Rosa, I know it's frustrating, but I think you should calm down a little."

"But he's still out there!" Rosa shouted, whirling on him. "The FM-ians have Kelvin, and we could find him in a flash if we could just connect to Peace! But that coward cares more about covering his tracks than the lives of those who went out there!"

"He was clear: he's not going to let us use NAZA's resources to pursue this. I…I don't think we really have much of a choice."

Rosa shook her head. "I'm not giving up."

"If Walters catches you, he'll—"

"What, fire me? If he does that, then I'll just cause a fuss about the FM-ians and his refusal to deal with it, and that'll put more pressure on him than he's willing to deal with. He knows that. He's in no position to blackmail me."

Rosa stalked over to a desk with a computer console built into it. She started typing furiously, and Boreal slowly edged towards her.

"But what's the plan?" he asked. "If we use NAZA equipment, Walters will be able to shut it down."

Rosa stopped what she was doing to glance at him. "We?"

"…He's my friend too."

Resuming her work, Rosa said, "We'll get equipment elsewhere. Set it up off-site. It shouldn't be too hard to get everything together, and I'm sure I can outmaneuver Walters if he tries to lay some kind of claim to our work." She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. "Still…we're going to need help."

"What about the Sages?" Boreal suggested. "Having EM Beings working with us sure would be useful."

Rosa covered her mouth with one hand. "I definitely want to consult with them…but I don't expect them to do anything directly. They do need to manage the Satellite Network, plus if they reveal themselves now, the Star Force plan could be put in jeopardy."

She stared forward, eyes unfocused, as she ran through all the possibilities she could think of. Unfortunately, given how much power Walters held, the Sages of AM really were the only ones beyond his reach, so their chances weren't looking very good.

 _No, there's still one more._

Her gaze sharpened as an idea came to her. "…Hm…"

"You've thought of something?" Boreal asked.

Rosa stood up and started to pace the room, tapping one finger against her arm. Boreal watched her, waiting for an answer. Eventually, Rosa came to a stop and closed her eyes.

"I'm going to call her."

"Her…?" Boreal repeated. A few moments later, he realized who she meant, and his eyes shot wide. "W-Wait, _her_?!"

Rosa flipped open her Transer and began setting up a secure connection. "She's the only person on Earth who I know can slip through Walter's web. If we're going to have any chance of getting Kelvin back, we need her help."

Boreal rushed forward and grabbed Rosa's arm. "Wait! Are you really okay with that?"

Rosa averted her gaze. "…My biggest problems with her are personal ones, so it's just a matter of swallowing my pride, really."

"Rosa…"

Finally looking him in the eye, she said, "We need her, Aaron. You know Kelvin would do anything to help us."

They stared each other down for a minute. Ultimately, Boreal released his hold. As he took a step back, he said, "You're right. If you think this is the way, then I'm with you."

Rosa nodded and turned to her Transer. She checked the encryption one more time, took a deep breath, and made the call.

* * *

 _But this situation is different,_ Boreal thought, his mind returning to the present. _Sonia's still so young…and she watched it happen, right in front of her._

He and Ace walked slowly down the hall of WAZA HQ, coming to a halt near a door guarded by Lyra and Ophiuca. The two FM-ians looked up as they approached—they didn't say anything, just regarded them with sullen eyes.

"Lyra," Boreal asked, "how long do you think she'll need to recover from the shock?"

Lyra shook her head. "Hard to say. Sonia built her entire world around Luna, and without that central pillar, it's all come crashing down on her. She was able to pick up the pieces the last time that happened to her, but I imagine it's even harder to do a second time."

Ace crossed his arms, nodding thoughtfully. "Hm. It won't be easy to take Dealer down without her help. Especially now that Joker's in play…"

Lyra paused a moment. "Mr. Boreal, while I have you here: has there been anything unusual about any recent communications from Planet FM?"

"Not that I can think of," Boreal said. "Why do you ask?"

"Corvus and Virgo. Not only are they here, which is troubling in and of itself, but they said something even more worrying. Something about it becoming even easier to kill on Planet FM. I can only imagine what they could've meant, and was wondering if—"

"Listen to you," Ophiuca hissed. "Luna died, and you're concerned about a hypothetical situation star systems away? We have far more pressing issues to deal with, Lyra."

Lyra opened her mouth to speak, but thought better of it.

"We can strangle the answers out of Virgo later. First and foremost, we need to exact our revenge on that man." She turned to the humans. "Unless you have something to tell me about that, I would ask that you leave."

Ace and Boreal exchanged a look. Before either could say anything, the sound of running footsteps could be heard—Vega careened around the corner and right up to them, stopping only when the FM-ians moved in front of the door.

"I can handle this, doctor," Ace said.

Still catching her breath, Vega huffed, "No…I need to…speak with her…please, let me in!"

Lyra glanced at Ophiuca. The snake charmer didn't budge.

"Please!" Vega said. "I can help her—you must let me through!"

"She does have…experience, with this," Lyra said. Begrudgingly, Ophiuca floated aside. Lyra followed suite, but took a moment to add, "Tread lightly, doctor."

Nodding to them, Vega gently opened the door and took a step inside. The room was small and the lights were out, only a single shaft of sunlight from a very narrow window dividing the darkness. The light hit the corner of a square table, at which sat Sonia, slumped forward with her arms crossed on the table to provide a makeshift cushion she could press her face into. She didn't move an inch.

"Sonia?" Vega asked quietly. There was no answer. "Sonia, are you awake?"

When she still received no reply, Vega walked over to the table and pulled out a chair, taking a seat opposite the girl. She thought a while longer about how best to say what she needed to say before speaking again.

"Listen to me, Sonia. There might still be a way we can save Luna."

Sonia's fingers twitched. She slowly lifted her head up: her eyes were red, tears still streaming from them, but they were forming into a very nasty glare. Vega quickly understood why.

"I'm being genuine. You know that I'm the last person who would lie to you about something like this."

Whatever Sonia had been preparing to say, she set it aside.

"If it had been anyone else, then the situation would be different, but Joker uses a very unique weapon. It's designed to break the target into multiple fragments—fragments specifically intended to be pieced back together later. Even when used against a material being, its Z Wave output automatically increases to the point where the target is transformed into an EM being, so that this division can take place."

Sonia's gaze finally softened. Vega leaned forward and took her hands.

"Luna isn't gone for good yet. There's still hope."

* * *

Sonia tried to hide her face as she followed Vega into the lab. She had finally stopped crying, but she knew she couldn't be looking good and didn't want the others to see her like this. They realized her intent and did their best not to stare.

Dr. Goodall stood before a large machine of some sort, and turned around when Vega stepped next to her. Facing Sonia, the old scientist breathed deeply, adjusted her glasses, and said, "I'm so sorry, Sonia."

"Dr. Vega said there was still a chance," Sonia said. She cleared her throat when she realized how awful she sounded.

"There is…but you must understand that it is a _chance_." Goodall gestured to the large tank-like machine behind her. "This is the machine designed to piece together what Joker breaks. We've done extensive work on it, but even at its current stage, it is not infallible." She pointed then to a wall covered in buttons and switches, next to which was a large, cylindrical chamber. "More importantly, there's this machine. It turns an EM being that was once material back to its original state…in theory. For obvious ethical reasons, we have never been able to test it, much less how it would work in conjunction with the first machine. Not that that's stopped Aaron from pouring his heart and soul into it…"

Boreal lowered his hat. Geo shifted a bit.

"So I need to be absolutely clear, Sonia," Goodall said. "We will do everything within our power to save Luna…but science is not perfect and almighty. I cannot make any guarantees. You must understand this before we proceed."

Sonia closed her eyes and bit her lip. After a few seconds, she nodded jerkily.

"…Alright. I've already gotten the finest team in the world together, and we're running thorough checks on these machines as we speak. With that out of the way, all that remains is gathering up Luna's data."

"How do I do that?" Sonia asked.

Goodall turned to Ace. "For best results, I think you should take Acid with you."

Ace raised his eyebrows. "Uh…is that really necessary, doc? Acid's technically still a secret project, so we're not supposed to take him off-site unless it's an official Satella Police mission."

"It is," Boreal replied. "We can't afford to miss a single piece of data, and Acid is our best analyst hands-down. I've authorized Sonia to take him with her."

Ace rubbed his neck. Grabbing his Hunter, he pressed a button to materialize Acid, and then said, "Well, what do you say, Acid? Ready for a trip to the beach?"

Acid faced Sonia. "I have calibrated my sensors to pick up the energy signature left by Joker's weapon, and augmented it with what data we have gathered from observing Luna fight in wave form—it is highly likely that her data fragments will possess a congruent wavelength."

Sonia nodded. "Thank you all." She paused a moment, and then asked Boreal, "Should I be looking for Strong's data too?"

Boreal didn't look her in the eye. "We already gathered up Strong's data. The environmental system is equipped to track him in case of an emergency, so it was a pretty quick process."

"Were you able to repair him?"

"…It's important to remember that Strong was corrupted by a very large amount of Noise. Since Joker absorbed the Crimson he released afterward, it's also possible the device he used affected Strong's data, and…"

Sonia fidgeted. "It's not good, is it?"

Boreal sighed. Goodall was the one who answered, "We were unable to restore Strong using his fragmented data. It had eroded to a point that we could not complete his program."

Sonia nodded.

"But there's good news for Strong," Boreal said. "The environmental system keeps backup data for him that it frequently refreshes, and using that the people of Alohaha were able to rebuild him. The data was from a few days ago, so he doesn't remember anything about Noise or Dealer, but…he is alive."

She wanted to be happy, but all Sonia felt was an urgent sense of anxiety, and an inkling that even were that not the case her actual feelings would be mixed. Not wanting to waste any more time, she turned back to Acid.

"Let's go," Sonia said curtly.

The Wizard followed as she headed for the door. Boreal called, "I'll send you an access code so that you can use the Astro Wave—you should be able to get to Alohaha much more quickly using that!"

"My, Earth has an Astro Wave at last?" Lyra commented. "It would seem your EM technology has taken quite a leap after all."

Geo stepped forward, saying, "Let me come too. I want to help get Prez back, and…well…"

Before he could finish, Ophiuca interrupted, "Please let me come as well. I don't know that I'll be much help, but…I at least want to be there."

Sonia just nodded, and then continued on her way, expecting the others to follow. However, just before she walked through the door, she stopped.

"…I have a question," she said. "Joker said I was his replacement…and since the Ace Program is named after Ace…"

She looked to Ace, then Boreal, then Vega, then Goodall. With a sad look in her eye, Goodall said, "That's right. Joker used to work with the Satella Police, and we named a Noise Control Program after him—he still possesses the first generation sample of it."

"I see," Sonia mumbled. She continued out the door, not saying anything else until they reached the elevator.

"I wonder what the rest of that story is," Geo said. "It's weird to think we haven't heard about Joker before now."

Sonia stared at her guitar screen. She started to reach for it, but then stopped.

"…Sonia?"

She gave him a quick look, and then slung her guitar over her shoulder. "…I can't use it."

"What do you mean?"

"This is…the power that killed Luna. I want to just uninstall it, and destroy it so it can never be used again." She clenched her fists. "But…I don't have time to replace it with a Filter. I guess I just have to keep it for now."

Lyra offered, "If it makes you feel any better, dear, I won't prepare any Noise Change connections."

"Thank you."

"I do not believe your assessment is accurate," Acid said. "This is not the program that Joker used to make his attack. Even if it was, refusing to use it now does not change the fact that—"

"Lay off, will you?" Mega snapped. "She said she's not gonna use it, so that's that! Why don't you fire up your sensors, or whatever it is you need to do?"

Acid said nothing more. Geo watched Sonia, but she just stared forward with a look he'd never seen before. He wanted to believe she was being hopeful, like she always was, but there was unmistakably something different this time. She looked drained, and desperate. It was like this was the last scrap of hope she had left.

* * *

King sat and shuffled his cards for a moment. Eventually, his chair rotated, and he looked down at Jack, Tia, and Joker.

"Well," he said, "this is a most unusual draw, now isn't it? Jack, Queen Tia, you did an excellent job. You generated a hefty amount of Crimson, instilled fear in the people of Alohaha, and successfully drew out that pest so that Joker could engage him in combat. But Joker…"

He set down his cards and leaned forward, folding his hands in front of his face.

"It's bad enough that you couldn't finish off your opponent, but worse still is that you've crippled Harp Note's will to fight! How are we to proceed without one of our most necessary pieces?"

Joker hung his head. "I am truly sorry, Mr. King. My anger got the better of me, and I acted rashly. I regained my composure when I fought my target, but he surprised me, and slithered away like a coward."

King sat back and sighed. "I had a bet you weren't prepared to fight cowardice. Heartless?"

She swiftly produced a stack of poker chips, which she set in King's outstretched hand.

"Thank you my dear, at least I've some profit to show. Really, Joker, I'm disappointed in you. You couldn't control yourself when faced with simple taunting, and you failed to complete a mission that should have been very easy for someone with your power."

Joker's fists tightened as he continued to stare at the floor.

"I suppose I'll have to think of a suitable punishment for you. For the time being, you are dismissed."

Joker turned and slowly made his way out of the room. Jack glared at him as he went.

"Jack?"

Jumping a bit, he said, "W-What?"

"Are you feeling alright, Jack? I just complimented you on a job well done, yet you don't seem all that pleased."

Jack put his hands in his pockets. "Right, yeah, I'm thrilled. Glad we can finally put all that undercover nonsense behind us."

King scratched his chin. "Hmm, I see. And is that the truth?"

"What do you mean?!" Jack snapped. "Of course it is! Now quit beating around the bush and get to our orders, will you? I've been waiting too long to take a stab at Harp Note!"

King wagged his finger. "Ah-ah-ah, Jack, that's no way to behave. What am I going to do with you? Even when you finally succeed in something, you fail in the end."

Before Jack could say anything, Tia took a step forward. "I apologize, Mr. King. I will have a word with Jack in private later. We are simply eager to continue our work."

"Sis…" Jack mumbled.

King grinned. "Oh, very well. I do have a rather important task for you."

He gestured to Heartless. The woman took a few steps aside and then clicked a button on her Hunter: a large screen appeared where she had been standing, displaying an image of WAZA HQ.

"Our surveillance network has confirmed that Harp Note and Mega Man have both left WAZA HQ and are en route to Alohaha," she explained. "Further, they have taken Acid with them, and counting the death of Luna Platz this leaves our enemy's base short four key fighters. To compound matters, the staff is in mild disarray as they attempt to prep machines they believe will reconstruct the data of Luna Platz."

Jack looked up.

"Therefore," King said, "I believe it is time to call their bluff. Queen Tia, you are to leave immediately to launch an assault on WAZA HQ."

Tia nodded. Furrowing his brow, Jack said, "And what about me?"

"You will stay here and await further orders," King said. He picked his cards back up and resumed shuffling them.

"…What?" Jack asked. "But sis and I always run missions together! What are you trying to pull?"

"This is exactly why I'm not sending you," King said. "You're quite out of sorts, Jack. Frankly, I expect you to ruin this mission if you are a part of it."

"What?! That's a load of—"

"Jack," Tia said.

He turned to his sister, ready to continue, but froze under the ice-cold glare she was aiming at him. Shrinking back, Jack pulled his coat tighter and mumbled something under his breath.

"I have no qualms about this assignment," Tia said to King. "Am I permitted any troops?"

"Actually," King replied, "I was going to send the copies with you. They'll be perfect for this particular attack."

Tia nodded. "Of course, Mr. King. Thank you for trusting me with such valuable technology."

"Of course, my dear! You've more than proven yourself. But then, at the same time…with so much in your favor on this mission, should you somehow manage to fail it…" He leaned forward again. "I will be incredibly displeased with you."

"I understand. Rest assured that the mission will proceed as planned."

"Good! That's what I like to hear! Run along, now."

Tia departed, leaving Jack standing alone. He looked up at King and Heartless expectantly.

"Didn't I already tell you what to do?" King said. "Go and think about what you've done. I'll expect you to have a clearer head by the time your sister returns."

Jack left without another word. When he was gone, King sat back in his chair and sighed.

"I suppose he's about that age. I do hope he doesn't get any particularly rebellious ideas—it'd be such a shame."

"Indeed, Mr. King," Heartless said. "I am certain that once he has some time to readjust, he will be useful to you once again."

King hummed. "There's still the matter of Harp Note. This hunt for her lover's corpse is bound to end in failure, so we shall need to find a new way to motivate her to fight."

"I doubt we will need to go far out of our way, sir. Once she fails, she will likely settle for revenge next, especially with the devastation of WAZA on her conscience."

"Hmm, perhaps, perhaps. But now that you say that, I find myself wondering if we should raise the stakes of this operation…"

King snapped his fingers. Ten Wizards with spiky purple armor soon appeared in the room, eagerly awaiting their orders. King drew ten cards from his deck and held them out.

"Each of you take a Noise Card, and then round up as many viruses as you please. Our enemies think their recent global expansion will leave them better prepared to deal with us…we're going to need to make a point."

* * *

Notes:

-You know what's crazy? At chapter 13 of the first _Shooting Star Sonia_ , we were beginning our approach on the finale. At chapter 13 of _Tribe_ , we were starting the Bermuda Maze scenario, which was the penultimate arc. But here we are, chapter 13 of _Red Joker_ , and I'm not sure if this story is even half done. Absolutely wild.

-This seemed like a good place to slip in another Rosa flashback, plus it helped me maintain this endpoint without the chapter being way too short. Not 100% sure when the next one is going to be, since I want to try to pace them, but I'm planning the last two to come right after the other anyway so maybe pacing shouldn't be such a concern. We'll see.

-While I am glad Luna could be reconstructed in the original plot, I can't help but feel it might be a tiny bit…convenient. Thus, Joker's weapon has been modified slightly to give a better explanation for how she survived. I think it's reasonable to say the WAZA scientist who gave him that weapon wanted him equipped to make non-lethal "kills". And of course, this whole event is the last big reason why I opted for Sonia having the Joker Program: it creates so much opportunity for angst!

-The material-EM reverser (or whatever you want to call it) is another attempt at further rationalizing Luna's survivability; as implied, Boreal now knows that Kelvin has become an EM being and wanted to create a way for him return to his original self when he eventually comes home. Sure is a good thing he did that.

-I'm fine with Strong not being repaired after Joker's attack, but given how essential he is to Alohaha, I thought backup data would make a little more sense than patching up what did remain of him. Backing-up Wizards is never really mentioned in-game, but I think it's worth bringing into this version of the story.

-Do regret that I can't properly get into the Astro Wave right now—I made some mentions of how Earth was on its way to developing one back in _Tribe_ , and I wanted to give it a "reveal" of sorts, but Sonia needs that method of travel now and we just don't have the time. Depending on how things are going the next time we need it, maybe I'll have Lyra monologue a bit.

-That wraps things up for now. I get the feeling this scenario is going to run quite a few chapters…but don't worry, there are plenty of surprises in store to keep it interesting all the way through!


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

"Here, Acid?"

"We are close. Please proceed slowly."

Sonia took a few steps, looking around anxiously. As soon as they had arrived in Alohaha, Acid had begun scanning the area for any trace of Luna's data, and the team was currently searching the Wave Road above the plaza outside Alohaha Castle. Sonia knew she just needed to be patient, but that was beyond her ability right now.

"Stop."

Sonia froze. "Here?"

"I believe so. Focusing scan now."

From where he hovered just above Sonia, Acid put both hands forward and emitted a low whine. A flash nearby caught Sonia's attention. Gradually, a small, blue orb of light flickered into view, and Sonia immediately started forward.

"Is this…?"

"Luna fragment located," Acid said. "Confirmed safe for retrieval."

Sonia reached out, gently cupping her hands around the ball of data. She pulled it in close, eyes fixed on it, and tried to make sense out of what she was holding.

 _This is Luna?_

Acid came forward and glanced at the orb. "According to my estimations, this fragment contains approximately 20% of Luna Platz's data."

Sonia tensed. "T…twenty percent?"

Acid gave a nod. Appearing to realize Sonia's mood, he then continued, "This is promising. If all the data fragments we find are this large, it will greatly increase the chance of successful reconstruction. It is more common that fragments of Joker's victims contain roughly 11-15% of data each, and if any fragments dip below the threshold of 10% it virtually guarantees that reconstruction will fail."

"Her chances are looking very good, dear," Lyra said. "Luna's holding on. It'll be alright."

Sonia nodded slowly, continuing to stare at the data. She felt a little more optimistic, but at the same time, actually holding a piece of Luna in her hands made the situation feel much more real suddenly, and her worries were starting to swell again.

 _No. I don't have time to break down right now—Luna needs my help._

She closed her eyes and lowered her head, cradling the data even closer, and whispered, "Don't worry, Luna. You'll be okay soon."

It might've just been her imagination, but when she opened her eyes, she was sure the light was shining more brightly than before.

As Acid helped her download the data into a specially-made folder, Lyra said, "We're getting a call from Geo. Shall I pick up?"

Sonia nodded. A screen popped up before her, showing not just Geo, but Claud and Kidd as well. Claud leaned forward and said, "Sonia, there you are! We didn't know you were back already."

"Uh, sorry," she said. "We were really in a rush, so I didn't get the chance to let you know."

"No, it's okay, I understand."

"We wanted to apologize, Miss Sonia," Kidd said. "Earlier, when we saw that Lord Strong had been corrupted, we were too alarmed to be of any use to you. Perhaps if we had been stronger…"

Sonia shook her head. "Don't worry about it. I know it must've been hard for you."

"How are things going on your end?" Geo asked.

"We have reclaimed roughly 20% of Luna Platz's data," Acid answered. "May I utilize this connection to extend the range of my radar?"

"Oh, of course!"

As Acid went silent, Claud said, "Geo gave us the basics of what you're doing, though I'm still a little fuzzy on the details. But you're looking for a way to save Luna, right? Is there anything we can do to help?"

"Sure, we'll take all the help we can get," Sonia said. "We need Acid's radar to verify the data, but if you could ask around, maybe see if anybody has seen any unusual data over the past few hours, that would narrow it down."

Claud and Kidd saluted, the former saying, "We're on it! Don't you worry about a thing, Sonia: we'll get Luna back to you in a flash!"

Sonia gave them a smile, albeit one that was weaker than she intended. The two boys rushed off, and then Acid said, "Geo, hold location. I am detecting a potential match in your immediate vicinity—will rendezvous at once."

"Oh, great!" Geo said. "We'll stay right here!"

Lyra ended the call, and Sonia began to move. She turned to Acid and whispered, "Forgive me for asking, but the assessment you just gave her was truthful, yes?"

"Correct," Acid said. "Were there a problem with the data, I would inform her."

"Oh, good. And if this one fragment is of decent size, can we expect the others to match it?"

"Uncertain. There have been instances where fragments of the same victim have wildly varied in size, with no clear variable to associate."

"I see…"

Acid didn't continue the conversation. Lyra stared at Sonia for a moment, and then quickly moved to her side.

* * *

Hyde stepped into the room and stopped, surprised to see he was not alone. Zack, Pat, and Magnes were crowded around a small table in the corner, and they looked up as he entered.

"Ah, pardon the intrusion," he said. "I was sent to retrieve some files Lady Vega requires for her work. I hope you won't mind."

"No, of course not," Zack said.

As he walked over to one of several consoles lining the walls, Hyde glanced at Magnes. "I don't believe we've been introduced. My name is Hyde—I work as Dr. Vega's assistant."

The Wizard gave a forced smile as he replied, "I'm Magnes. I used to help the Science Club at Echo Ridge."

Hyde nodded awkwardly. He reached for his Hunter, faced the console, and began searching for what he needed.

"It'll be okay, Magnes," Zack said. "We'll find something for you to do here in no time! With your specifications, you're practically made for this place!"

Magnes shook his head. "I was made to help out at the school. I'm programmed to teach, and to work with kids, and to oversee simple experiments. This just isn't the same."

"Even if it's different, that doesn't mean you can't enjoy it," Pat said. "Just give it some time."

"I appreciate that you're trying to help, but it isn't that simple. I'm a Wizard built for a specific purpose—I _need_ to fulfill that directive. If I can't do that, then…it feels like I'm just wasting drive space."

Zack leaned in. "You aren't a waste! There's still a lot more you can do, Magnes!"

Magnes sighed. "Zack…I've lost the opportunity to do the one thing I was created to do. Anything else I can try would just be empty. Maybe it would be better if I was dele—"

"Don't say that!" Zack interrupted. "You're more than a simple program, Magnes: Wizards are so complex that they _have_ to be able to grow and change. You just have to work at it."

Magnes looked down at the table.

"…Well," Pat muttered, "you also have to _want_ to work at it."

Hyde quietly put his Hunter away and slipped out of the room before the conversation could continue. When they were a few steps away, Phantom said, "All this technology and the humans can still only produce such primitive EM beings. It only grows clearer that PM-ians are the only lifeforms worthy of their sentience."

"Yes," Hyde mused, "the wise, flawless PM-ians, brought into being by a warmongering god-machine that couldn't think of anything other than consuming power and breaking what it didn't like. You come from such a noble adoptive lineage."

"Hmph! Don't tell me you were impressed by that sniveling wretch?"

"I must admit, there's a certain advantage to admitting that one has failed at their life's goal, rather than simply denying the obvious."

"And what exactly are you implying?!"

"I'm afraid you'll need to wait for the revision to know. Much work remains to be done on-set."

Hyde ignored Phantom's retort and glanced out the window. In the courtyard outside of HQ, he could barely make out Bud, standing off by himself and staring up at the walls of the crater the structure was built into. Thinking little of it, he continued on his way.

Down below, Bud kept staring until he heard the Wave Liner pull in. Amy disembarked, fished out her Hunter to show some identification to the posted guards, and then rushed straight over to him. She practically tackled him as she moved to hug him, but he was a bit sluggish in returning the embrace.

"How are you doing?" she asked.

Bud shook his head. They stood there for a moment, still entwined, before he finally said, "I couldn't do anything."

Amy hugged him tighter.

"It seemed like he barely moved, and I was out. And then, Prez…" He bit his lip.

"But they have a way to save her, right?" Amy said. "She's going to be okay, Bud."

"They don't know if it's gonna work. And if it doesn't, then that means it's my fault that—"

"It isn't your fault." She reached up and put a hand on his face, gently turning him to look at her. "Bud, you can't blame yourself for what happened. You had no warning."

"I know, but…once I did realize what was happening…I couldn't stop him. I wasn't strong enough to even slow him down."

He sniffed as tears finally started to fall.

"I've worked s-so hard, and I…I still can't…protect my friends…!"

Bud began to cry loudly; Amy could feel herself tearing up as well, but she did her best to fight it, and just held onto Bud until he could talk again.

"I-I just…all this time, I've been giving it my all! I thought, if I was really dedicated, it was supposed to payoff, y'know? That I'd be strong enough to keep everyone safe! But, I did my best, and I…I'm still not good enough for this new threat! There was nothing I could do to help Prez! Even if she pulls through this time…what's going to happen _next_ time?"

Amy looked up, wishing there was something she could say. Nothing she could think of seemed like it would be enough.

Bud sighed in an attempt to calm down. "…I'm sorry. Thanks for being here."

"Don't apologize—of course I'll come when you need me!" She paused to smile at him. "Let's head inside. We'll see how their work is going."

Bud nodded. Taking Amy's hand, he prepared to head back when he spotted something on the far side of the crater. "Huh? What's that?"

Amy turned to look: it appeared to be an EM body of some kind, a pure white, mechanical-looking creature that floated a few feet off the ground. "Isn't that Acid? I mean, he looks a little different, but…"

"He left with Sonia, though," Bud said. "Are they back already? I thought they would've told us once they were done searching."

Suddenly, another EM body appeared, also identical to Acid but being a yellowish-green color. A few seconds later, a pinkish-red Acid appeared not far away. Bud's eyes widened.

"Th-this isn't good," he said, tugging on Amy's arm. "Come on, we've gotta warn someone!"

The two of them dashed inside, nearly bumping into Ace in the lobby. He looked at them and said, "What's the rush?"

Bud pointed. "It's—I mean, they—well, I don't really know, but…"

Ace approached the door, looking out to see a steadily growing swarm of Acids slowly approaching WAZA HQ. He grimaced and drew out his Hunter. "Sound emergency alert! Deploy Real Wave barrier at main entrance and evacuate all civilian personnel! We are under attack—this is not a drill! I repeat, HQ is under attack!"

Alarms blared overhead, and just outside, a tall, glowing barrier flashed into existence. Ace turned and headed for the stairs.

"Chief Boreal, do you copy?"

"I copy," replied a voice from Ace's Hunter. "What details do we have on the enemy forces?"

"Well Chief, they all look like Acid."

"What?!"

"Misprints, granted, but some people actually pay more for those. I've deployed the barrier, but hard to say how long that's going to hold."

"Rats…we'll just have to…"

Ace stopped mid-step. "Chief? You there?"

"I'm getting an urgent report from our Netopia Branch HQ," Boreal replied. "Wait, and also one from NetFrica…Sharo too? They just keep coming!"

Ace tightened his grip on his Hunter. "A coordinated attack on all branches, huh? So much for backup."

"This is a nightmare! Ace, we're just going to have to do the best we can with what we've got. Deploy all Battle Wizards and notify all Satella Officers on-site, I'll see who I can call in!"

Turning slightly, Ace shouted, "What are you waiting for? Let's move!"

A crowd of people in combat gear began to rush past him. A new voice came from Ace's Hunter, this one belonging to Goodall. "Arthur? What's going on?"

"I'm afraid we've come under attack by a swarm of Acid clones, doc. Still working on an explanation."

"Dear me…an army like that is going to be tough to repel. You know, I think I could recalibrate that EM weapon we're working on, but—"

"But you'd need Acid's help to do it properly."

"Bah, you should at least let me finish!"

Ace chuckled. "Sorry, but once Acid gets here I'm going to need him with me. Besides, you and Dr. Vega still have important work to do."

"…Arthur," Goodall said. "You will be careful, won't you?"

"I will, doc. I've gotta contact Acid now, but I'll be up in a second." He hung up, and then turned to Bud and Amy. "Bud, we could use your help out there! Amy, if you don't want to evacuate, then you should get to the main computer room!"

He ran off before either could say a word. Taurus appeared and set a hand on Bud's shoulder, saying, "Come on, Bud! We've got some heads to knock!"

Bud glanced at the door. "I…I don't know how much help I'll really be. There's a lot of those things, and if they're all on the same level as Acid…he's supposed to be really strong, isn't he? He is based on Mega."

Taurus leaned in. "Mrrgh? We can't just sit by, Bud! We've gotta do what we can to protect this place!"

Squeezing his hand, Amy said, "I believe in you, Bud. You'll be able to stop those things, I'm sure of it!"

Bud looked between them for a moment. Hesitantly, he nodded, and he reached for his Hunter as he slowly approached the door. Amy paused a moment, and then looked at her Hunter. A few moments later, she turned and climbed the stairs.

* * *

"…but that's all we know for now."

Sonia stared hard at the screen, trying to process what Ace was telling her. "…Ace…if they get inside, then…"

"We're doing our best to prevent that," Ace said. "But to tell you the truth, we really need you all back here ASAP."

Acid nodded. "Fortunately, we have just completed our search—100% of Luna Platz's data has been recovered. We will return to HQ immediately."

"Great news! That'll be a nice morale booster for everyone. See you soon!"

The call ended. Sonia looked to her guitar: it was true that they had managed to find all of Luna's data, and from Acid's assessment, her chances still sounded high. But now she couldn't help but feel even more worried than before.

 _If they destroy those machines, we may never be able to save Luna._

She turned to Geo. "We need to hurry!"

"Should we come too?" Claud asked. "We can help take out these copy things!"

"I don't know if that's a good idea," Geo said. "It sounds like Dealer's attacking several places at once—you guys might be needed here."

"Is there really much threat of them returning here?" Kidd asked. "I'm not sure Alohaha would be a very strategic target."

"Strictly speaking, perhaps not," Ophiuca said. "But it would provide a way to kick us while we are down, and I hardly put that beyond Dealer. You boys stay here. We will be in contact once this matter is settled."

It wasn't much of a goodbye, but Ophiuca and Acid headed for the Wave Road while Geo and Sonia Wave Changed in order to join them. As they headed for the link to the Astro Wave, Geo asked, "Acid, do you have any idea what these copies are?"

"There is a high probability they are being utilized by Dealer," he said. "Aside from that, there are many possibilities as to what their origin might be. I do not think it fruitful to speculate with the limited information I currently possess."

"Whatever they are, we'll need to take them out as quickly as we can," Sonia said. "I'll draw their attention when we get there—Geo, you should try to get between them and the HQ. Ophiuca…" She paused. "I think you should take Luna's data, and get it to Dr. Goodall."

Ophiuca nodded. "I'll protect her with my life."

"And then, Acid…"

She then realized that Acid had stopped moving. Before she could ask why, he stated, "Unidentified Wave Change detected. Intentions unknown. Incoming."

"Shoot," Geo said, "they must've sent someone to intercept us! Sonia, Mega and I will hold them off!"

She turned towards the direction Acid was facing and scanned Wave Road. At first she didn't see anything, but then, someone did emerge from a path leading behind Alohaha Castle. Her jaw dropped when she recognized who it was. He stopped for only a moment when they locked eyes, and then continued his approach, moving a good deal slower than she expected him to. Geo glanced at her, keeping his buster ready.

"Do you think…?" he mumbled.

"I don't know," Sonia said.

He was still a short distance away when he stopped. He stared at them for a moment, but then, finally, said, "It's been some time, Harp Note."

Shakily, she nodded. "Yeah. I have to admit, I wasn't expecting to see you here, Solo."

Acid cocked his head. "This is Solo? Curious. I have heard mention of him, but was not given any information on what he looked like."

Solo eyed Acid warily. Turning back to Sonia, he said, "I mean you no harm. I simply have something I wish to discuss with you."

Sonia tapped her fingers against her guitar. "…I'm sorry, Solo, but we're really in a hurry right now. Someone's life is at stake. I don't have time to spare."

Slowly, Solo nodded. "I see. Then…" He paused for another few seconds. "May I come with you?"

"Huh?"

"I'm not going to impede your efforts, if that's what you're worried about."

"No, I just…wasn't expecting that. Er, I'm sorry." She turned to Acid. "Do we need to get him clearance to get to WAZA, or can we skip that since this is an emergency?"

"Uncertain," Acid said. "I have been told that this individual is rather dangerous…although, he does not seem to be a grave threat at the moment."

Taking another look, Sonia realized what he meant: though he was Wave Changed, there appeared to be several scars on Solo's body, and every now and then he swayed a bit before catching himself. His eyebrows soon lowered.

"Fine, I'll cut to the chase," he huffed. "Tell me: are you in conflict with Dealer?"

Sonia said, "D…well, yeah, we are. How do you know them?"

"They're my enemy as well. So…" He swallowed hard. "After considering it…I've come to feel that it might be worthwhile for us to compare what we know."

"Please clarify," Acid said. "Are you requesting to ally with us in the fight against Dealer?"

Solo ground his teeth. "…Potentially."

"I require definitive confirmation."

Solo hesitated, and Sonia grunted. "Acid, we don't have time for this! Let's just take him with us—if anything happens, I'll accept the blame!"

"Are you certain you trust him?" Acid asked. "He could also pose a threat to Luna's reconstruction, you must be aware."

Sonia looked at Solo, feeling just a twinge of doubt. If she was being honest, she wanted to take a more cautious approach, but she knew they didn't have time and she had to make a fast decision. It didn't help matters that she still couldn't entirely think straight. Still, she took stock of her feelings as best she could, and made the decision she thought was best.

"…He wouldn't have any reason to do that. I'm trusting him."

Solo's face went oddly blank. With a nod, Acid said, "Very well. Then let us be off."

"Come on!" Sonia called to Solo, turning back towards the Astro Wave. "Just so you know, we're heading for a fight."

Regaining his composure, Solo came closer and said, "Hmph. So long as it's with Dealer, you'll hear no complaints from me."

* * *

Notes:

-Sorry this chapter's a little short, but I felt this was the best place to end it for the sake of pacing. And I apologize it took so long, but…I can't guarantee things will get better on that front. You see, I'm starting a new job next week, and I'll be working more hours than I am at my current/former job—good news for my finances, but it's too soon to tell what effect this will have on my writing. I will do my best to stay on top of things, and by no means am I cancelling any stories or even putting anything on hiatus, I just wanted to give you a heads-up so that if updates do remain slow, you know why.

-The issue of the Omega-Xis copies proved a bit of a conundrum. The most obvious thing to do would be to simply replace them with Lyra copies, but though I've definitely shown Lyra's power, a swarm of harps didn't quite have the same impact. More than that, it seemed odd that Dealer could create replicas of a Wizard just by observing their Wave Changed form fight, which was the original explanation given for the Mega copies. (I actually forgot about it until I looked it up, that's how well it stuck.) I'll save the full story of the Acid copies for when we get to it, but I'll say that we do know of a certain person who left WAZA, and I think it's safe to say that person would have had some access to Acid's blueprints…

-I couldn't remember when the other WAZA branches were destroyed. Turns out, um, they were actually destroyed right near the beginning of the game. Oops. Well, King launching a surprise assault on all branches at once makes more sense anyway, right? Maybe? …Anyway.

-It's not definitive, but for now at least, I want to see if our heroes can solve things without the Noise Canceller there to eventually obliterate the copies. There are a few things I want to happen that said weapon might alleviate the need for.

-I worry that this might get through the search for Luna Fragments way too fast, but it'd really just be a lot of running back and forth, hammering the same point over and over again. It's fine in gameplay, but here I felt it would just get repetitive. Also, it seemed weird in SF3 how Acid just shot back to HQ while you had to walk. How is that fair?

-And after a bit of delay, Solo's back! There were a few hints leading up to this, but exactly what they were might not be clear until we get a little more information in a chapter or two. I wanted some buildup, and some better tension, in contrast to him just kinda…showing up outside WAZA HQ for a few minutes, like he did in-game. He's relatively more agreeable this time too, though he's still not completely down with the idea of allying with Sonia. Still, he's come to feel it's necessary and worth the displeasure, for reasons he'll elaborate on once this crisis is over.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

The structure of the Astro Wave was almost exactly the way Sonia remembered the Sky Wave, with the only monumental difference being the obvious one: rather than hanging just above the clouds, it formed a loose net in the empty space around all of planet Earth. The purple and gold platforms looked more or less the same, linking to each other via identical warps, though luckily there seemed to be fewer viruses overall. It provided a fantastic view of the planet, the moon, and hundreds of stars, but Sonia wasn't interested in any of that right now. Geo was unable to keep his eyes forward, constantly looking about at something new he spotted out of the corner of his eye, but he didn't let it slow him down. Solo just seemed vaguely uncomfortable, though no one was sure if it was due to where he was or why he was there. The party travelled in silence until Acid suddenly materialized in their path.

"What now?!" Sonia snapped.

"I am detecting a large group of viruses heading this way," Acid said. "There is no way to circumvent them—we will have to fight to clear a path."

"You've got to be kidding…"

Sonia unlimbered her guitar while Geo activated a Noise Change: his armor became teal and white, with two large wing-shaped protrusions on his shoulders and a long beak-like extension on his helmet. Solo stared at him for a moment, and then turned to Sonia.

"So you've let someone else take the transformations this time?" he asked.

Averting her gaze, Sonia said, "I have the same power. Just not using it."

"Why not?"

She shook her head. "It's complicated. I'll be fine. What about you: aren't you going to call out Laplace?"

Solo gritted his teeth. "…I can't."

Sonia turned towards him. "Huh? Why not?"

Before Solo could answer, a warp ahead lit up, and a Wizard with spiky purple armor appeared out of it. He floated a few steps forward before noticing the party, and jumped in shock. "What the…what are you doing here?!"

"I thought you said you detected viruses?" Sonia asked Acid.

"You what?" the new Wizard asked. "Well, no big deal I guess, I'll just…hey, wait. You're Harp Note!"

Sonia's patience was growing thin. Stepping forward, she said, "If you've got anything to do with those viruses, call them off. We don't have time for distractions."

The Wizard smirked. "Distractions, y'say? That sounds perfect! I was ordered to meet up with Three and attack Alohaha, but if I keep you distracted I bet I'll get way more credit!" He gave a short wave. "The name's Two! On behalf of Dealer, I'll be harassing you today!"

With an angry grunt, Sonia rushed forward. Two touched a hand against the Wave Road, and a large swath of it suddenly changed to an odd shade of gray; when Sonia reached the edge of the patch, she received a powerful jolt, making her stumble back. The warp lit up again, and this time viruses began to pour out of it.

"Oh great!" Sonia said as she took aim. "We don't have time for this! _Move!"_

She hurled her guitar in flail form. Two strafed to avoid the initial attack and ducked when she swung it around, letting it knock aside several of his viruses as he lobbed a small explosive. Sonia was struck head-on, and when she recoiled, several viruses moved in on her at once. Acid swooped in just in time to knock them away.

"I believe it wiser to fight from a distance," Acid stated. "Stay focused, Sonia. The others will hold out until we arrive."

"Alright," Sonia muttered as she got up. She played as she backed away, sending a flurry of notes into the oncoming horde. "I hope they will."

* * *

The courtyard was in total chaos. Those who had not evacuated WAZA had gathered in the main computer room, watching a feed of the battle on a large monitor, and their sense of security was in steady decline. On their own, the Acid copies didn't seem especially powerful—each took only a few blows to be deleted, and they had only displayed very light projectile weaponry in addition to their physical attacks—but they kept coming, and coming, and coming, and coming, and coming. The Battle Wizards were keeping their formation strong to avoid being flanked while the human Satella Officers fired over their heads with anti-Z Wave artillery, managing to steadily chip away at the enemy ranks and give their front line some degree of relief. But when one copy fell, it seemed like three more sprang up its place, and it was apparent that the Satella Wizards were in danger of being overwhelmed.

Out in the thick of it was Bud, swinging wildly and sending one Acid clone after another flying off into the distance. He was able to shrug off their attacks for the most part, and when they became too much, he was able to create some room to breathe using a wide fire attack, but then the cycle would start again. He didn't seem to have much of a plan, and his swings seemed to focus more on repelling the clones that outright destroying them. It wasn't a bad thing in and of itself, but while some of the clones he flung away bowled over others, at least as many got right back up and marched on the line of Battle Wizards, only worsening their already poor situation. At this point, some of the viewers couldn't help but feel Bud was causing more harm than good.

 _Come on, Bud!_ Amy thought, wringing her hands together. _I know you can do better than this! Quit holding back!_

On the other hand, much to everyone's surprise, Hyde was proving quite valuable with his hit-and-run tactics. His new Wave Change form was visible for only seconds at a time: the spikes that had once decorated his elbows were gone, his crumpled shoots of hair stuck out at smaller angles, and instead of a cape, his armor was now covered with a well-trimmed longcoat not too dissimilar from his everyday clothes. He made his way from one side of the crater to the other, appearing only long enough to smack an Acid copy with his electrified cane and stun it, forcing the others to detour around their prone companions. Then he would throw his hat into the ring—literally—and watch it slice through a few dozen enemies before a shadowy hand would rise from the ground to catch it, swipe away a few more enemies, and hurl it right back across the field and into Hyde's hand. Then, he made another pass, occasionally stopping to execute a spinning attack just for variety's sake. A few Acid clones got in lucky shots, but none of them lasted long enough to make a second. Remarkable as it was, despite all his success, he could not put a large enough dent in the swarm to lessen the burden on the Satella Police, and this left him looking a bit less pleased than Vega expected he would.

"He can't keep this up forever," Vega said, and then turned back to what she was doing.

"He'll be fine, Veggie," Goodall said. "Let Jekyll have his fun, and once Sonia and the others arrive, he can come take a breather while we wrap up our own work."

"Of course…"

Copper stared intently at the screen, arms crossed, tapping his foot as well as his fingers. He started when he felt something nudge him, and looked down to see Plesio.

"Is it going badly?" the PM-ian asked.

"…It's more of a stalemate, really," Copper answered.

"You're nervous."

Copper sighed. "I just wish there was more I could do to help. I'd be of at least _some_ use down there, I'm certain."

"We need you here, detective," Ace said. "You're the all-important eye in the sky—just keep watch and tell our comrades what to expect."

"They know exactly what to expect!" Copper said, gesturing to the screen. "I can't see anything helpful, just an everlasting flood of enemies! At this point, the only thing I can think of that could potentially change the situation would be entering a new combatant…that, or figuring a way to get Bud more motivated."

Ace nodded, thought for a moment, and then turned to Amy. "What do you say?"

She jumped. "Huh? W-Well, I already talked to Bud—I don't know that there's anything more I can say to him, and if I called I'd just be distracting him…even more…."

"Okay. Then what about entering the fight?"

Copper squinted. "Ace, what are you doing?"

"Well, her Wizard _is_ a PM-ian. She could really help out here."

From Amy's Hunter, Yeti replied, "Yeah, but we don't Wave Change! I'd be happy to go fight these things, though."

Amy looked to her screen. "Hang on! You're not properly equipped for something like this, especially since you won't be able to use your full power! Look at how rough those Battle Wizards have it—you don't have armor like theirs to keep you safe!"

"Maybe…I could attack from a distance?"

"But what if they spot you and counterattack?"

Ace nodded. "She's right: it isn't safe for a non-equipped Wizard out there, even an elite PM-ian like yourself. But you'd be in much better shape if you Wave Changed."

"Like I said," Yeti insisted, "we've never—"

"Yeti. I know."

Yeti paused. Fidgeting, Amy said, "…You know…what?"

"Come on, you know. I've got access to the Transcode registry, so of course I noticed when 010 was added."

Zack pushed his way over to where they were, looking up and asking, "Wait, is that true? You two _have_ Wave Changed?"

"We didn't fight anything, though!" Yeti said. "At the last skiing event, there was an avalanche—someone got trapped in the woods, and Amy wanted to go help them. She couldn't get her footing, and we were near the edge, so…we Wave Changed, just so I could help her get to safety. But that's it!"

Turning to Zack, Amy said, "I'm sorry for hiding it. Yeti just didn't want to talk about it."

"Then, you can help Bud!" Zack said.

"We're not going to Wave Change to fight," Yeti said.

"What?! But you can help him!"

"I want to, but if I did that, I'd be putting Amy in danger too! I…" He hesitated. "I can't do that. Not after all she's done for me: she took me in and gave me a place to belong, even after the terrible things I did. I can't accept all that _and_ ask her to put herself in danger! I won't Wave Change!"

Amy furrowed her brow. "Yeti, I…I appreciate that you don't want me to get hurt. That's why I haven't pushed the issue, especially because there was no need to." She gripped her Hunter more tightly, leaning in. "But, please…Bud's in trouble! We're _all_ in trouble! If I can do anything to contribute, then I want to be useful, even if it's a little dangerous!"

"Amy, I don't know if I can keep you safe! If you were to get hurt, it'd be my fault again! I don't…"

A shout from the main screen caught their attention. Looking up, they saw Bud down on one knee, breathing flames to keep away the Acid copies but unable to fight off those that were clawing at his back. Eventually, he was able to buck backwards and smash them against the crater wall, but in seconds more were coming. He just stood there, unsure of what to do.

"Bud!" Zack shouted. "Do something!"

Amy turned back to Yeti, who still didn't say anything. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Pat.

"Yeti," he said. "I know you want to keep Amy safe, but you also need to think about how _she_ feels. Someone she cares about is out there fighting for her, getting hurt to protect her, and she just wants to try to help protect him in return. Are you really going to deny her that chance?"

The PM-ian covered his face with his hand. "That's easy to say, but…"

Amy faced Pat and said, "I guess…you feel that way too?"

Pat smiled a little, but it didn't last long. "…Yeah. But at least you have a way to help."

"So do you," Ace broke in.

Before Pat could ask, Copper and Vega both started towards him. The former grabbed his shoulder and stated, "That's enough!"

"Don't you dare, Ace!" Vega shouted. "I won't let you!"

"You just find somewhere quiet to wait until Acid gets back," Copper said. "I think you've said more than enough."

"We need help if we're going to last until Acid gets here," Ace argued. "These two are the only ones who can give us that help."

"At what cost?!" Vega replied. "You have no idea what you're asking! Just stand down!"

"Doctor, if we lose this battle there might not be another. We've got to protect everyone here, as well as the equipment needed to save Luna. If Taurus Fire is defeated, and if Harp Note loses her will to fight, then there's no way we'll ever beat Dealer!"

"And that's all that matters to you, isn't it? You'll do anything to destroy them, even if it means throwing more children into harm's way! You really are just like him!"

Something dark flashed over Ace's face. Recovering quickly, he calmly said, "I'm not throwing anyone. It'll be their choice. I just want them to know what choices they have."

Before Vega could say anything more, Pat stepped forward and said, "Stop it! What are you talking about? How can I help?"

"Just ignore him, Pat," Copper said. "What he's proposing is a terrible idea, and you—"

"I want to…" Pat interrupted, quickly growing quiet before trying again. "I want to make that decision myself. If there's…if there's really a way for me to help here, then I want to know what it is. People keep getting hurt trying to protect me, and I…" He faced Ace. "Please, tell me."

Ace and Copper locked eyes for a minute. Eventually, Copper released his hold.

"No!" Vega said. "You can't do this, Ace!"

"Vega!" Goodall said. The other scientist turned. "…If he wants to know, let him know. It'll be his decision in the end."

Still looking furious, Vega glared back at Ace, but didn't say anything more as he led Pat out into the hall. They made their way around several corners and down a flight of stairs before coming to a metal door with a keypad, and after Ace punched in a string of numbers, he pulled it open to reveal a small room that was empty except for a pedestal at the center, and the Transer that sat on it. Pat cautiously entered the room and examined the terminal.

"I don't get it," he said. "It's just a Transer."

Ace shook his head. "This was Chief Boreal's Transer. He had it stored here as soon as he took over NAZA, because he didn't want any risk of what he sealed inside it getting out."

"Sealed…?" Pat repeated. Suddenly, his eyes widened.

"It's been three years now. I'm told you were there, when the FM-ians made their final push to destroy the Earth, and Chief used a special program to trap one of them who couldn't be reasoned w—"

The boy whirled and punched him. Pointing a malicious glare, he said, "What the hell are you thinking?! You want us to let that monster out? He'll just find a way to get us killed faster! I'm not just gonna let you put my brother through that!"

Ace rubbed his face. "Nice to meet you too, Rey."

He started forward, but stopped suddenly. Putting a hand to his head, Pat said, "No, wait…just wait a minute…"

Rey clenched his teeth. "Are you joking?! You can't actually be considering this, Pat!"

Pat took a deep breath. To Ace, he said, "Can you…give us a minute?"

Ace nodded and stepped outside, pulling the door around but not enough that it would lock. Pat took another step towards the Transer.

"That jerk really has no idea what he's talkin' about. What's more, they shoulda destroyed this thing the second Sonia wasn't looking!"

"Rey…"

"We can't trust him, Pat!" Rey paused, and sighed. "Look, I know I've said that too much before, but with this guy I'm sure of it, and you know exactly why!"

"I'm not saying we trust him. But if there's a way to use his power, then we'd actually be able to help our friends."

"Close enough! He'll still be able to hurt you, and you know he'll take that chance! Just leave it to the others—Geo will be here soon!"

"And then Geo will get hurt! Is that what you want?"

"…Not really, but—"

"He's always doing whatever he can to keep us safe, and he keeps getting hurt because of it." He shuddered. "Rey, I'm…I'm so scared that something's going to happen to him, and that it's going to be my fault. I want to fight to keep _him_ safe! I know it'll have risks, I know I'll probably get hurt in the process."

"Then don't do it!"

Pat breathed deeply. "Rey…I know you want to protect me, and I'll always be grateful for that. But I'm stronger now. I don't want to keep running away from the pain: I want to face it, and show that I can handle it! Maybe this won't work out, but I want to see if it can. Please, Rey, I need your help to do this."

It took a long time for Rey to reply. "Pat…are you _really_ sure that you're ready for this?"

"I am. Everyone's always protecting me…after so long, I'm finally ready to protect someone else for a change. It isn't fair if things stay a one-way street forever, you know?"

"But if that's what you _need_ …" Rey sighed. "I don't like this. But if this is really what you want to do…then I'll support you however I can."

Pat smiled. "Thank you, Rey."

After taking another deep breath, Pat called Ace back into the room. He paused once more, and then he reached out, flipped open the Transer, and stared at the screen. It took a moment for the device to activate. When it did, an image of an EM being appeared on the screen: a yellow cloud of energy with two masks sitting atop his form. He regarded Pat for a moment, and then chuckled.

"Well well," Gemini mused. "I must say I'm surprised to see you again."

Pat felt his muscles tense. On instinct, he prepared to retreat, to let Rey take over, but he stopped himself and stayed right where he was. "Hello, Gemini."

The FM-ian glanced at Ace, saying, "Ah, it's you again. Still trying to convince me to join in your precious cause? I told you, I have no interest in the dealings of humans."

"Come on, Gemini," Ace said. "Aren't you at least interested in finally getting out of your cell?"

"I will admit I've grown a bit tired of this cramped terminal. But, the mere ability to leave is not motivation enough to bend to your terms."

"Listen," Pat said. "WAZA is under attack, and we need to defend it."

Gemini turned aside. "Isn't that what you have Harp Note for? The girl destroyed Andromeda, I imagine she's capable of repelling a few troops."

"She's not here right now."

Gemini perked up. "Oh?"

"We're going to get overwhelmed if we don't do something. But…" He bit his lip. "…But if you and I were to Wave Change…"

A low, chilling laugh came from Gemini. "Now _that's_ an interesting offer…"

"There'd be conditions, of course," Ace said. "You'll be put in Pat's Hunter and granted a Real Wave body, but a modified one with built-in restrictions to prevent you from running wild. We'll also be able to remotely terminate your Wave Change if you try to take control of Pat. So long as you don't cause any harm to our side, we'll keep you out of this room."

"And when this is all over? What would become of me then?"

"That all depends on you."

"Hah…a very strategic answer." Gemini faced away from the screen. "I'm afraid that's just not enticing enough. There's no promise of anything to be gained, only a short reprieve to see how useful I am to your efforts. Perhaps whoever overruns this facility will grant me a more appealing offer."

Stepping forward, Pat said, "You'd really rather sit here trapped? Just on the chance that Dealer won't smash this Transer when they overwhelm us? How is that a better option to you?"

"To be frank, being on a human's leash sounds equally appealing as death. And since I hold more of a grudge against you lot, I'd rather take my chances elsewhere."

Pat gritted his teeth. "You…"

Gemini laughed. "But I thank you for coming here! Getting to see you so distraught really reminds me of the good times, and it will—"

His body lurched suddenly, and then began to waver, and he gave a pained moan. Pat gave a confused look to Ace, who smirked.

"Seems the Noise is getting to you after all," Ace said. "Yeah, all the equipment in this building produces quite a bit, so I'm actually really surprised you've avoided corruption this long."

"Hmph," Gemini scoffed, his form solidifying again. "As if I would allow myself to be harmed by some ambient static."

"Whether you allow it or not, the Noise is only going to keep building up inside of you, and if left unchecked you _will_ be corrupted. You'll probably go feral and mutate into some hideous virus."

Gemini faced him. "Silence! Such a thing could never befall—"

He was cut off by another spasm. Ace waited until it was done, and then said, "We have invented something to protect EM beings from the effects of Noise, you know."

Gemini waited.

"Of course, it's only compatible with Real Wave bodies."

"Of course," the FM-ian sneered. "So if I don't cooperate with you, you'll just allow me to be corrupted, is that it? How noble. Clearly you humans have retained the moral high ground Harp Note loved so much."

Leaning forward, Ace said, "Like we just told you, Sonia isn't here right now. So what's it going to be, Gemini? You say working with us is as bad as death…but how does corruption compare?"

As Gemini considered this, Pat said, "Ace, if it's something he needs, shouldn't we give it to him regardless of whether he's on our side or not?"

"That's a matter of opinion."

Pat shifted uncomfortably. "…I think it's more a matter of ethics…I don't want to threaten him into helping."

"It's not threatening, per se."

"I disagree."

"If I could have your attention," Gemini interrupted. Pat and Ace both looked at him. "…Deplorable as it may be, I will agree to work alongside you for the time being. Though I'll hate every second of it, at least with my faculties intact, I'll _know_ that I'm hating it."

"Then we have a deal," Ace said. "Pat, hand me your Hunter: I'll install the data for the specialized Real Wave body and then transfer Gemini."

Pat took out his terminal and stared at it. He glanced at Gemini for a moment, and then hesitantly handed the device over to Ace. As the Satella Officer got to work, Pat said, "To be honest, Gemini, I wish we didn't have to do this. But, thanks for your help, I guess."

"Keep your thanks," Gemini said. "Just try not to waste my power this time, otherwise you'll get us both killed. Or rather, all three of us."

Rey glared at him, saying, "Keep yer trap shut, or my finger might slip and I'll delete ya."

"Heheh, there you are, partner. I was wondering how long it would take for us to be reunited."

Before Rey could say anything else, Ace declared, "Okay, ready to transfer. Sit tight for a second, Gemini."

A thin beam of light linked the Hunter and Transer for roughly a minute. Gemini disappeared from the Transer screen, and when it was over, Ace handed the Hunter back to Pat, who could now see the FM-ian on his device.

"I've already registered your Transcodes," Ace said. "Go on and give it a whirl!"

Pat clutched his Hunter tightly. Breathing deeply once more, he brought up the registration card, and then held the terminal out and said, "Transcode 012!"

Rey pulled the Hunter around next, saying, "Transcode 013!"

Ace shielded his eyes as a bright flash engulfed the boy.

* * *

From the edge of the crater WAZA HQ sat in, Queen Tia watched the battle with her usual uninterested expression. She would occasionally glance at a screen floating next to her to keep track of how many Acid copies she had left. Nearby, Virgo floated around in circles, wringing her staff like she was trying to choke the life out of it.

"Awwwwww, come oooooon!" she whined finally, jumping up and down. "When do we get to kill 'em?! I'm sick of waiting, Tia! Just let me kill one—I promise I'll stop at just one! Well…for a little bit…"

Tia shook her head. "It is not yet time for us to act. For now, these disposables are sufficient."

Unconsciously, her hand twitched when she said that. She quickly directed her thoughts elsewhere, scanning over the mob until she spotted Bud backed into a corner.

"Ugh, come on, that one's already about to die!" Virgo said, pointing her staff at him. "What's the harm in letting me jump in and finish him off? Please?!"

Down below, Bud continued swinging his fists, but the Acid copies were unrelenting. Between gasps, he said, "This…isn't going…so well…"

"Mrrgh!" Taurus grunted. "We can't give up, Bud! Everyone's counting on us!"

Bud punched through another copy. "I know, but…I think I'm…at my…"

A blast hit him, sending him stumbling back into the wall. The copies moved in, but Bud unleashed his fire breath, incinerating several dozen. He righted himself only to see more coming.

"This is…too much…"

"Mrrgh, that's quitter's talk! Come on, Bud: I know you can do better than this!"

"No…I can't…this is…"

One of the copies slashed with its claws, hurling him back into the wall again. He raised his arms to shield himself, but suddenly, a shadow moved over him, and he looked up. Something plummeted through the air, landing on top of the nearest Acid clone and smashing it to bits.

"Who…? Wait a minute…"

It didn't take him long to recognize the form, even if it did have a few changes. Yeti Blizzard was somewhat smaller than he remembered, with longer, slightly narrower feet, and the purple hair atop the creature's head was pulled up into something like a ponytail that spilled down into the same shaggy mess as before.

"Yeti? Amy?!"

She spun, extending her arms to knock away a few copies as she did. "What do you think you're doing, Bud?!"

"H-Hey, that's what I was gonna say!"

Amy faced the horde again, creating a large snowball in her hands. She rolled it forward, letting it scoop up Acid copies as it bowled over them, and then lashed out at another with a flying kick before bouncing off of it and crushing another one.

"You're not giving it your all! You're holding yourself back, fighting like you're not expecting to win, and if you keep it up you're going to get hurt—or worse!" She threw one Acid copy into another before turning and staring hard at him. "If you're not going to fight like you mean it, then I will! We can't afford to lose!"

A projectile from one of the copies struck her in the shoulder, making her flinch. She turned back and started to create snowballs in her hands, rapidly hurling them at her foes.

"But…" Bud shook his head. "Yeti, what are you doing? I thought you didn't want to Wave Change so Amy wouldn't get hurt?"

"I didn't have much of a choice," Yeti said. "Her mind's made up! She didn't want to keep watching you get hurt, Bud."

Bud hung his head. "So it's my fault…if I was stronger, than Amy wouldn't have to—"

"Cut that out!" Amy snapped.

Bud looked up. "What?"

"I know you're taking your loss hard, but you can't just give up! Even if you might not be as strong as you want to be, you're still _a lot_ stronger than you've been acting! So cut it out already!"

Amy struck the ground with both fists. A fast-moving avalanche rolled over the edge of the crater and to either side of her and Bud, sweeping away huge swaths of Acid copies. She turned to face him, out of breath but still looking determined.

"Losing doesn't mean you aren't good enough! Someone else being better than you doesn't mean you aren't good enough! It's just an opportunity, Bud—a chance to keep working, something to keep striving for! So get up! And charge straight at that wall, no matter how long it takes, no matter how many tries it takes! Be as thick-skulled as you need to be until you shatter it completely!"

He stared up at her for a moment. "…Amy…"

She turned and blocked a swing from an Acid copy. She managed to push it back, but before she could finish it off, a flaming fist shot past her and into the enemy, carrying it off into the distance before exploding. Amy grinned.

"…Thanks, Amy," Bud said, walking up and setting a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry I was being so lame. To make up for it, I'll buy you a whole plate of burgers when this is all over!"

"I'm looking forward to it!" Amy said. "Now, what do you say we take out these posers?"

Bud reared back. "You got it!"

He smashed his fist into the ground, cracking the stone beneath them. Countless flame towers erupted all over the crater, wiping out several Acid clones and confusing the remainder. Letting out a roar, Bud lowered his horns and charged at them, his armor starting to glow red-hot as he did. Amy started forward as well: a thin layer of snow and ice formed just a few inches ahead of her, reaching out along the path she planned to take, and she used the large feet of her Wave Change as makeshift skis to slide across the slick surface, reaching out to punch numerous Acid clones as she went. Bud eventually hit the wall, and it took him a moment to free his horns. The copies tried to attack him in this opening, but as soon as they touched him, their arms burned to a crisp. Seconds later, Bud lashed out and finished the job.

"Mrrrrrgh!" he shouted, his aura of heat growing stronger. "Come on, show me what you've got! I'll reduce you all to cinders!"

He, Amy, and Hyde continued to work on the mob, but at the front gates of WAZA, the Satella Wizards were starting to falter. Three Acid copies focused their fire on one of them, and then a fourth moved in to swipe at it. The Wizard cried out, and disappeared in a burst of light.

"The line has been breached!" one of the human officers shouted. "Fall back and tighten formation—all units focus fire on the opening!"

The humans aimed their weapons at the oncoming Acid copies, but before they could fire, someone behind them shouted, "Make way!"

They took one look and parted. Once the way was clear, a massive blast of electricity shot out through the gap in the line, ripping a huge chunk of Acid copies to shreds. When it was over, two boys walked through the opening and took up stances in front of the Battle Wizards.

"I can pick them off from afar," Pat said. "Can you take care of any that get in close?"

"You got it, bro," Rey said. "They won't lay a finger on you!"

The new Gemini Sparks sported longer torso armor, which had a golden coating on its rim that was also found on their greaves and their non-weaponized arms. The golden arms they used to fight, meanwhile, were now no larger than their regular arms, making the armored coating look far sleeker.

Rey extended a blade from his golden arm and shouted back, "What're you waiting for? Get back to firing!"

Hastily, the Satella Officers complied, and Rey turned to effortlessly cut down a trio of Acid copies. Pat held both hands out: electricity was generated from his golden arm before moving along his entire body, and then it began to shoot out in focused bolts, each of which lanced through three or four Acid clones before disappearing. One enemy rushed him, but Rey transformed his hand into a drill and impaled it, ultimately using a rocket punch to slam it back into its fellows.

From above, Virgo turned excitedly to Tia. "How about now?! They're doing better now, and we're starting to run low on copies, right? Can we start killing them now?!"

Tia just watched the battle unfold, her expression frozen in place.

* * *

Notes:

-For everything that I wanted to happen at WAZA to have time to happen, I realized I still needed to stall Sonia and co somehow, and it took me a while longer to realize this would have been a good place to put in Moon Destroyer. But, quite a while back I was making tentative plans and thought of something later that I want to save Moon Destroyer for, so now my heart's set on that. I think it'll work out for the best. The numbered Mal Wizards seemed like a good way to expand Dealer just a little and keep with the theming—but don't expect _too_ much from them, they are minions after all. (Er, thinking about it, I think I actually mentioned 10 of them in that other scene, apparently forgetting all about the ace card…oops.)

-Dark Phantom was another Wave Change that already looked very sleek (except for his hair), so my logic was that a coat would hang more closely to his body than a cape would. His cane now doubles as a stun baton, and he possesses the hat toss attack of the ghost viruses he favored in SF2, plus one more special ability that we don't get into here and now.

-Okay so, the bit about Amy and Yeti having secretly Wave Changed once already is completely unnecessary…except that I needed one other person to register a Transcode before Wolf Woods. WW is 011, and I wanted to keep his canon code, but after doing the major five, then Hyde, Luna, Kidd, and Claud, that just left me at 009. Out of everyone available, it seemed easiest to just say Yeti and Amy had briefly Wave Changed about that time, filling in 010 and letting me move on. Although…now that I think about it, maybe it could've worked with another one…oh, whatever, it's here now so I'm sticking with it.

-Also, there really should've been more buildup to Pat's desire to protect Geo. I have no excuse for missing the ball on that one. I apologize.

-Since Amy's smaller than Yeti's previous partner, her version of Yeti Blizzard would probably be on the short side even without the Hunter's streamlining. The hair is meant to be a mix between Amy's normal hair and Yeti Blizzard's original mane, and the reasoning behind the change to the feet is probably obvious: she's a skier! It helps that ice slides are used by so many ice-users, I mean you got Iceman, Frozone, Kopaka Nuva…they're a staple. Since Amy's still getting the hang of this form that's the only new power we see here, but there's a bit more coming.

-Giving Pat and Rey separate Transcodes was originally done to help me try to reach 020; even though I still couldn't, I decided to keep it anyway because it seemed to make sense. Different people, different Transcodes. Their weapon arms were obviously the only particularly bulky part of their design, extending the torso armor was done because I just thought it'd look nice, and the gold trim is just there for flair. While they both retain their previous abilities, their new skills are different: Rey can transform his arm into several new shapes, while Pat has gained greater control over electricity. Also toying with the idea of giving at least one of them the Gemini Laser just for kicks. We'll see.

-Aaaaaaand we're just getting started. Hoo boy. I always planned for this scenario to be the climax of the first act, but it looks like this act alone is going to be just a smidge longer than the entire first story. Anyway, I actually have a draft of chapter 16 (thank God), so I will be posting it in two weeks! (Unless something crazy comes up, I guess.) Queen Virgo finally takes to the field, and I'm sure you can guess how well that's going to go!


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Sonia summoned her speakers and brought her hand down on her guitar, sending out a trio of sound pulses that swept away all the viruses she could see. The Wizard Two endured the attack, and instantly more viruses came from the warp, attacking as soon as they did and forcing Sonia to evade. Their numbers were quickly replenished. Geo floated around the edge of the gray tiles and pointed his buster, sending out a blast that struck one virus and unleashed a shockwave all around it; Two was caught in the blast, but he shook it off, dashed forward, and threw out a whip made of electricity. Geo narrowly avoided the attack and backed off a bit. Sonia wrapped the Wizard in strings and tried to drag him out of his territory, but a sword-wielding virus snapped the bindings before he was close enough, and Sonia was on the run again while Geo unloaded a rapid series of shots.

 _This is taking way too long!_

Ophiuca and Acid were doing what they could: the FM-ian would distract foes with her snakes before stunning them with her Gorgon Eye, giving Acid a chance to finish them off, and they were having some success. She had seen Solo fighting off viruses when things had first started, but she had very quickly lost sight of him. If that worried her at all, she was too frustrated to notice.

"What is it that you want?!" she shouted at Two. "What are you going to accomplish by keeping us here?"

With a smirk, Two said, "Longer you're here, more damage gets done to WAZA, and then I get to claim a share of credit in that. That's all there is to it."

"So you're just some attention-hungry jerk? Sounds pretty pathetic!"

Geo glanced at her in surprise, leaving himself open to a minor attack.

"Whatever you say, Harp Note," Two said as he readied another whip. "I'm having a grand time!"

As he reared back, Geo dispatched the virus he was facing and held his hand forward. A high-pitched whistle came from his Hunter arm, and suddenly Two's body went stiff, and he was pulled through the air by some invisible force until he was right at the edge of the distorted panels. Geo shifted his stance—a large, fan-shaped weapon appeared in his hand, and when he swung it Two was launched backwards by a damaging gust of wind, sliding to a stop on the far edge of his territory.

"Heh…not bad, but not smart either," Two said as he got up. "You shoulda tried harder to keep me there, dumb—"

In a flash, Solo appeared behind him. He grabbed the Wizard by the head, yanked him off the altered portion of the Wave Road, and slammed him down with all his might. Two turned enough to look at Solo: the boy was glaring fiercely at him, silently warning him not to try anything.

"Thanks, Solo!" Geo shouted. "We'll cover you!"

Sonia set her guitar for quick blasts, unleashing a flurry of shots on the herd of viruses. Ophiuca and Acid grouped the strays together, and Geo teleported into their midst, spinning around and whipping up a sharp air current that demolished them. Once they were sure no more viruses were nearby, the Wizards went to guard the link while Geo stooped and loaded a Battle Card to restore the Wave Road to normal.

"The other viruses will come even if I don't signal for them," Two said.

"Then we'll just handle them," Sonia huffed, stalking forward.

Joining Solo, Geo asked, "What are we going to do with him?"

Sonia stopped and faced them. She tried to consider what her options were, but she couldn't focus her thoughts on the matter.

"He may possess valuable information," Acid stated. "If we have some way to bind him, then it may be worth taking him with us."

Solo turned slightly, raising his free hand. The second he did, Two smirked, and he quickly reached for something.

"Solo!" Geo shouted.

The Wizard pulled out a Noise Card, took aim at Sonia, and then shouted in pain as Solo snapped his arm clean off. After discarding the appendage, he asked, "What is that? Should we keep it?"

Geo paused a moment, and then went to pick up the card. "Uh…yeah. We'll explain later."

Solo nodded. Raising his free hand again, he pulled one finger through the air, creating a line of light as he did—in this way he drew a symbol in the air, and when he then pointed down, chains shot from the glyph to wrap around Two. With the Wizard secured, Solo stood and dragged him over to the link.

"Yikes," Two grumbled, "guess I bit off more than I could chew…"

"Looks like you've got some new tricks too," Mega commented. "Shame we couldn't see more of 'em in action, it might've helped."

Solo grunted. "If you can't tell, I'm not exactly in good condition right now. Fighting those viruses head-on would've been suicidal without Laplace's barrier."

Geo nodded. "Okay, that makes sense, but…why is it that you can't use Laplace's powers?"

"We need to get moving!" Sonia interrupted. "He can tell us on the way—let's go!"

"Sonia," Lyra said. "We can expect a swarm of viruses beyond this link, and charging in headfirst would be foolhardy. We need a strategy, and if there are currently limits on how Solo can contribute, we need to know what they are."

Sonia looked at her guitar for a few moments. She then sighed, turned back to Solo, and said, "I'm sorry."

Solo didn't give much of a reaction. Turning back to Geo, he said, "I fought an agent of Dealer in Alohaha. I heard the environmental Wizard was going out of control and figured it was them, so I came to get the jump on them. But, it seems they were expecting my arrival…" He grabbed the spaulder adorning his left shoulder. "That man…shattered Laplace's barrier in a single punch."

Geo shuddered. Sonia's eyes widened slightly, and she said, "Wait a second…what was this guy like?"

"He was extremely tall, in a red coat. Somehow, he was able to fight me without even Wave Changing…I believe he said his name was—"

"Joker."

Solo inclined his head. "Ah. So you've met him too."

Sonia's teeth and fists clenched, and she said, "He's the one who…he's the reason we need to get back to WAZA right now. It's because of him that Luna's life is in danger." She looked up. "…And he beat you?"

"He _surprised_ me. Destroying Laplace's barrier so easily left me bewildered, and he took advantage of that. Not only that, his weapon is unlike anything I've seen before." He gestured to his scars. "My Wave Form was damaged. He seemed to think it should've been destroyed. I thought that would allow me to surprise _him_ , but…when I attacked him with the Laplace Blade…"

Solo gripped the piece of armor more tightly. Geo said, "I think I get it. I'm sorry to hear that, Solo. Will…will Laplace be okay?"

"They will regenerate, like any PM-ian. But I don't know how long it will take. This…has never happened before."

A thick silence enveloped the party. Acid eventually broke it, saying, "Taking this into consideration, I believe I have a plan of attack. We shall proceed as soon as everyone is ready."

Sonia stepped forward. "I'm ready. Let's get back to WAZA as soon as we can."

* * *

It was hard to say for sure if the tide was turning. The Acid copies continued their relentless march, and had managed to delete several more Battle Wizards and wound a number of human Satella Officers, but the line had held and the Wave Change users were still fighting. Tia glanced at Bud, who kept fighting despite his clear exhaustion, and then to Hyde, who was now beginning to show signs of fatigue as well. As for Amy, Pat, and Rey, they certainly had more stamina remaining, but it was very apparent that they were novices to this sort of fighting. She finally looked to the screen floating next to her. The last few Acid copies were just now being sent out.

"Let's go," she said, dismissing the interface.

Virgo leapt up. "Really?! It's finally time?! Yay! I've been waiting for this!"

The FM-ian disappeared into Tia's pendant, and a second later they were fused. Heavy armor shaped like a dress encased Tia, its interior alternating bands of blue and white while the outer plates were a dark, dull shade of reddish-pink sporting golden accents. Her angular sleeves and tall headgear with the same shade, and the hair trailing behind her now bent upward into sharp points. In one hand she carried a tall, silver-plated scepter, its tip sporting a wide dish with a small spike atop it. Tia made a short jump forward and gently floated down into the crater, landing in the midst of the final Acid copies.

Amy was the first to notice her. She tapped Bud on the shoulder, and he turned around, flinching instantly. "M…Ms. Tia? Is that really you?"

She didn't say a word, simply planting her staff in the ground. A translucent veil of water rose to encircle her, and then she locked eyes on Bud, raised her weapon, and tilted it slightly. Instinct allowed Bud to strafe clear of a small burst of rain overhead.

"Ms. Tia, we don't have to fight!" he said, trying to think of what Sonia would say. "Why are you working for Dealer? There's gotta be some way to solve this without—"

More water fell from above, forcing him to run. Amy hurled a snowball at Tia, but it shattered against her barrier; a second later, a focused blast of water shot out from the shield right at Amy, who barely stumbled out of the way.

"…Alright, can't say I didn't try," Bud mumbled.

"Be careful, Bud," Taurus warned. "With all the damage we've taken, an opponent like this is really risky for us."

"I know, but we're going to have to break that shield to even have a chance. I'm gonna put everything I have into it! Are you with me?"

"Mrrrgh…ah, sure, might as well give it a shot!"

Bud dodged more rain as his armor started to glow red-hot again. He turned to Amy and shouted, "Get ready, Amy! I'm gonna make an opening for you!"

"Huh?" Amy said. "Wait, Bud, I don't think that's such a good—"

He was already charging horns-first. Tia just gave him a dull stare.

"Kyahahaha!" Virgo laughed. "What an absolute moron!"

Bud rammed into the barrier with all his might…and it didn't budge an inch. The fact had barely processed when water burst out of it, flinging him back at high speed. His head hit the ground, and with a groan from both him and Taurus, they passed out, their Wave Change vanishing instantly.

"Bud!" Amy shouted, bounding towards him.

"It's been waaaaay too long since I last got to kill a moron!" Virgo said, practically shrieking with glee.

Amy reached over Bud, doing her best to shield him from another burst of rain. The attack stung, but she kept moving, trying to get Bud on his feet and keep an eye on Tia at the same time. Tia's expression still hadn't changed. Amy dragged Bud a step forward, but it seemed to take forever, and Virgo cackled as she watched them slowly lurch away.

"This is great, this is great! Let's torture her some more and then kill them both at the same time—it'll be so much fun! Kyahaha, I can barely wait!"

Tia moved, and Amy tried to shift without dropping Bud. To her surprise, a shadow moved over them, and she didn't feel a thing—looking up, she saw a large hand made of darkness spread out above her, and it slowly retracted into the ground from whence it came.

"Huh?" Virgo said. "Who's the spoilsport?!"

"Beg pardon, fair patron," called a voice, "but that would be me."

Tia looked over her shoulder. Hyde stood there, bowing with his hat in his hand, and he soon flashed a satisfied grin at her.

"It seems our star is a bit under the weather, so for tonight's performance the understudy shall be taking center stage. I assure you this will in no way diminish your entertainment of the performance…or at least, it shan't diminish _mine_ , heh, heh, heh."

Tia turned back to Bud and Amy, noticing that Pat and Rey had come out to help them. She beat her staff against the ground: her shield swirled and grew, a piece of it soon breaking off and molding into a massive, spinning torrent of water shaped like a dragon. The elemental swept along the ground towards the children, but Hyde suddenly appeared in its path and thrust his electrified cane directly into the dragon's face. Its entire body burst into droplets.

"Please, miss," he said as he adjusted his hat. "We ask that you not distract the rest of the audience. Eyes. On. Me."

"Ugh, you are sooo frustrating!" Virgo said. "Let's just kill him first, then we can get back to the brats! Come on, Tia!"

Without a sound, Tia faced Hyde and raised her staff. He effortlessly avoided her rain attack, musing, "Seems your offensive ability is somewhat lacking, my dear—but those defenses of yours will prove quite the trick. Ah, such wonderful balance, a perfectly matched countermeasure! Truly, I admire it! Yet at the same time, all I need do is breach said defenses, and—"

"Do you _ever_ shut up?!" Virgo shouted.

"No," Phantom replied, "not even when his life depends on it."

Hyde shrugged. "Too dialogue-heavy for your taste? Oh, very well, I suppose I can simply cut to the action scene. I've bought more time than I really needed anyway."

Tia narrowed her eyes a bit. She called down another burst of rain, this one striking Hyde before he could move. But, for some reason, it passed right through him. She paused, and he smiled arrogantly at her.

"W…what the heck?!" Virgo cried. "We hit you, you're supposed to get hurt! You better play by the rules so I can kill you, or else I'm gonna make it _extra_ painful!"

"My word," Phantom said, "you're almost as bad as he is, you simpleton."

"Simpleton?!"

Tia looked around. It seemed to be getting darker suddenly, save for the areas directly around her and Hyde. As the darkness grew thicker, spotlights could be seen around the two combatants, and Tia didn't move an inch as she worked out what was going on.

"An illusion," she stated.

Hyde clapped. "Bravo! Aren't you clever! It takes some time to prepare the stage, but now that the scene has begun, there's nothing you can do to escape. So just sit back and enjoy, fair patron…though eventually, the script _will_ call for your role to end, heh, heh, heh."

Virgo continued shouting, but Tia ignored her and swung her staff around. A wide swath of rain blanketed the area in front of her, and she hoped Hyde would be caught in it somewhere, but all she heard was a laugh from the illusion in the spotlight as he rested both hands on his cane. Deciding to try a different approach, she struck the ground again.

"Oh, go ahead," Hyde said as the water dragon passed right through him. "You won't hit me, you won't hit _anyone_. I wonder, are you even actually using that attack, or is it simply stage magic? Heh, heh, heh."

Tia considered this for a moment. "No. If your powers of illusion were truly that strong, you would not have waited this long to unleash them."

Hyde pulled the brim of his hat down over his eyes. "Heh, heh…an interesting theory. Care to try it out?"

Tia raised her staff high. She floated a few inches off the ground as pieces of her dress began to shine with light, but before she could do anything more, a terrible pain sprang from her back to lance through her entire body, stopping her cold. The illusory Hyde laughed, and she was able to turn just enough to see the real one behind her.

Pointing up, he said, "Your defense lacks a certain verticality, miss."

He spun rapidly, whipping up a shockwave that cut into Tia several times as the stunning effect of the earlier attack wore off. Hyde electrified his cane once again, but she moved more quickly than he anticipated: she rammed the head of her staff into him, spawning a water dragon from it as she did, and the creature swept him away to be driven directly into the wall of rock. Tia straightened herself as the illusion around her quickly faded away.

Amy, Pat, and Rey were fighting off Acid copies not far away. Most of the clones were behind them, however, clawing away at the remainder of the Satella Police forces; Tia assumed this meant their intention was to leave the horde to the officials while they came to assist Hyde.

"Oh, you came back!" Virgo said. "Wait, did you dump the other one already? Awww…well, I guess that's something to look forward to killing later. I'll just have to enjoy the three of you right now, kyahahaha!"

Amy jumped on top of an Acid clone and then bounced off of it, aiming for Tia as she raised a new barrier. She managed to aim herself towards the open area above her enemy, but Tia saw this and leapt to the side, meaning Amy landed on nothing but solid rock. A quick downpour nearly pushed her into it face-first.

"Urgh," she grunted, "hard to believe raindrops hurt so much…"

"Kyahahaha, never heard of acid rain?" Virgo taunted. "Not that it matters, I guess. What's important is that you suffer! Kyahahaha!"

Amy threw a snowball as she retreated, not accomplishing much of anything. The Gemini Sparks were running in now, Pat curling lightning bolts into a ball while Rey readied his sword, but Tia just beat the ground and summoned another dragon. Pat and Rey scattered, while Amy jumped out and stomped on its head. Tia didn't flinch as the electric orb was hurled at her barrier, nor when Rey slashed at it from the other side. A rocket punch hit from a third angle a moment later, but despite all their efforts, the twins couldn't create a single dent in the barrier.

"Darn," Rey hissed as he dodged a water blast. "I thought if we split her focus we might get somewhere…"

"Nice try!" Virgo said. "My defenses can't be beaten that easily, kyahahaha!"

"She's right," Gemini said. "Disappointing as she turned out, there's a reason Virgo was considered one of the elite."

"Huh? You know me too? I guess this Wave Change looks sorta familiar…"

Gemini chuckled. "Can you remember nothing but how best to kill, Virgo? While I applaud your devotion, you always did seem a bit too single-minded to me."

"Aw, who cares! Let's just get back to me killing you!"

"No, I think not."

Pat and Rey continued to circle around Tia, attacking her barrier in an attempt to find some weakness to it. Amy glanced at Hyde, currently peeling himself off the wall, and tentatively formed a snowball in one hand and took a step forward.

"Amy, what's the plan?" Yeti asked. "She can block anything we throw at her from the front, and she'll see us coming if we try to attack from above. Unless we can manage to get her really distracted, I think we're kind of stuck."

"There's got to be something we can do," Amy mumbled. Hyde had joined in the attack now, but Tia just stood there and watched their futile efforts. Amy opened her hand, preparing to create another snowball, but stopped to think better of it.

"You can't hold us off forever!" Hyde said, attempting to leap over the barrier. "You're vastly outnumbered, you—oof!"

Tia smacked him away with her staff head before he could finish. Rey charged the barrier with a drill, but he was repelled instantly. Pat raised one hand and shot a bolt of lightning into the sky—a second later, it came back down and struck Tia, and he smiled. Amy took this opportunity to lob her snowball. To her dismay, the barrier was back before it hit its target.

"Shoot!" Amy said. "If only we could…" She paused to look at her hands.

"What are you thinking?" Yeti asked.

Amy grinned. "Of course!"

She rushed forward, both palms open. Tia spotted her but didn't make a move to interfere. Amy skidded to a halt and stuck both hands out, and once they met the barrier, she unleashed an intense wave of cold that froze one section of the shield into solid ice. Tia's eyes widened. Amy reared back one fist and prepared to punch through.

"Got you n—"

Tia's staff came through the ice instead, jabbing her in the gut and sending her toppling over. At the very least, this provided Hyde an opportunity to stun her, which allowed Pat and Rey to get in some more hits. Before long, however, Tia's dress began to glow again, and she raised her staff high. Beams of light shot down from the sky and rapidly encircled her, sweeping away all three of her attackers and giving her plenty of time to raise a new barrier.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Amy growled as she rolled onto her side. "Even when we find something that works, it's still not enough?"

"She must have a lot of combat experience to respond so quickly," Yeti said. "Our chances don't look great, but…we just need to keep her busy, until Sonia gets here, right?"

Amy clenched her teeth. "Is that all we can do?"

She started to get up, but one of the Satella Officers shouted at her. She looked, and then immediately pressed herself against the ground, yelling at Pat, Rey, and Hyde to do the same. They complied, and Tia turned to see what the officers were up to. That was when she realized they all had their anti-Z Wave weapons pointed directly at her, and all at once, they fired. As the blast soared over Amy, she felt a sensation like pins and needles along her back, and she dared not look up until she heard an impact. She saw that Tia's barrier had warped horribly…only to snap right back into shape and unleash a water blast even more massive than one of her dragons. Amy rolled enough that it only grazed her. The Satella Officers and Battle Wizards were slammed into the Real Wave shield they were protecting, and when the furious torrent finally stopped, none of them got back up.

"Oh no…"

There weren't many Acid copies left, but those that did remain quickly realized their opportunity. They advanced over the defeated Satella forces and began clawing at the shield.

"No!"

Amy prepared to rush them. A burst of rain prevented her from doing so. To her relief, Pat and Rey ran past either side of her, and they immediately began picking off the invaders as quickly as they could. The downside, Amy knew, was that it now fell to her to continue distracting Tia. Finally standing, she faced the woman with an exhausted scowl on her face. She only received that same blank stare in return.

"Kyahahaha!" Virgo laughed. "This is so much fun! Do you think they're dead? I hope at least _some_ of them are dead. Oh what does it matter, I can slice them all apart later just to be sure, kyahahaha!"

"You're despicable!" Amy said. "And you, you're really okay with this? What's worth this? What's so important that you're ready to kill for it?"

A spark of something flashed behind Tia's eyes. What is was, Amy couldn't be sure, but it was enough to surprise her. Still, she didn't have time to be shocked: Tia was forming another dragon above her head, and though Hyde came to regroup with her, he was looking extremely worse for wear. Amy opened her hands and generated as much cold as she could. Tia swung her staff forward and the dragon dashed. Hyde called a hand from the earth to swat the creature, but it barely proved a distraction. When it was almost upon them, Amy thrust her palms out to freeze the monster, its forward momentum enough to shatter its newly-fragile body, but she still felt herself being pushed back. As she caught her breath, however, she noticed something shooting through the air. It was a small object, something that looked like a box, and though she couldn't tell where it had come from, it was headed straight towards Tia.

"What is…"

As the box moved over Tia, strings shot out from its face. They reached through the opening atop the barrier and entangled Tia, catching her totally by surprise, and then the box was quickly reeled in closer to her. Amy looked up at the Wave Road.

"…Is that…?!"

Devastating sound waves exploded from the speaker, enough to make Tia shout in pain. She too looked up, seeing someone standing on the Wave Road, and then threw away the object that had attacked her.

"Here at last," Hyde breathed. "I was beginning to think you'd missed your cue, dear heroine."

Sonia didn't pay him any mind. Her eyes were fixed squarely on Tia, and as the Dealer operative called up another water veil, Sonia adjusted the settings on her guitar.

"You only get one warning," Sonia yelled. "Leave. Now."

* * *

Notes:

-While I didn't want to modify Solo's appearance (since I already made a small change in Tribe), I still wanted to give him some new abilities, and giving him access to a wide range of glyph powers similar to what Green Ninja had seemed like the most natural progression since he already uses a glyph to transform. More details to come…feels like I've been saying that a lot throughout this scenario…

-Raindrops falling on your head is not the most exciting means of attack, granted, but I wanted to keep the shockwave mainly as a counter move and emphasize Queen Virgo's defense over offense. Not sure I'm going to get the chance with the way things are going, but very early in the planning process I began to want Ophiuca to hear "Queen Virgo" and say "My, how very original." But Ophiuca's in a hurry and Tia might not even be in the mood to say her Wave Change name, so…oh well.

-Illusions seemed a good fit for Hyde's personality. Since I don't want it to get too overpowered, it's likely to be more of a last resort he saves for special occasions, but I think I'll still be able to have some fun with it. Also, Yeti Blizzard's abilities have expanded a bit to generate cold in a way similar to how Taurus Fire generates heat, though I don't see her using this as a power-up mode.

-The gang's all here now, meaning this siege is finally coming to a close next time! There'll still be a bit of wrap-up of course, but I'll try to squeeze that all into chapter 18, and…yikes. That means the first act of this story is longer than the entirety of the first story. Yikes. Then again, this act is probably going to be the longest, so I'm sure we won't end up with too crazy a chapter count…probably…anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll have Queen Virgo's fight with Harp Note, Mega Man, and Acid Ace up on July 3rd!


	17. Chapter 17

Pat shot a blast of lightning that lanced through an entire line of Acid copies. There weren't many enemies left, but the situation felt hectic as ever now that they were tearing away at the Real Wave shield keeping WAZA safe. Rey intercepted one clone and hurled it into another. As he sliced them both apart, another copy floated into place and renewed the assault on the wall, so Pat ran over to obliterate it before it could do much damage.

"Wish we knew how much longer this'll hold," Pat said as he backed up against Rey. "The way things are it's impossible to know what our margin for error is."

Rey fired off a rocket punch. "Don't worry about that: just keep taking 'em out! We're almost done, and then it won't—"

A shout from Tia distracted them. One of the copies swept in and swung its claw, knocking them both off their feet. It prepared to follow-up, but before it could, Geo blinked into existence behind it, running it through with a Long Sword and making its body go limp.

"Geo!" Pat said, sitting up and smiling. "I'm so glad you're back!"

A very confused look was what he got in return. Geo looked from him to Rey, saying, "Pat, Rey…are you…what's happening?"

"Take it easy," Rey said. "We're both fine, and we're both still on your side."

Pat got to his feet. "Sorry, I guess this must be a shock. We just…we wanted to help out, and when Ace showed us where Gemini was being held—"

"Ace did what?!" Geo asked.

"If you'll forgive the intrusion," Gemini said, "your foes haven't quite given up yet."

Geo spun and blasted away several copies. As Pat and Rey resumed their own efforts, he called, "Gemini, you better not even _think_ about hurting them!"

Gemini laughed. "Oh, you seem a tad less fragile than the last time I saw you. I suppose if something would befall these boys, I'd have to answer to you?"

Geo turned towards an Acid copy that was charging Pat. In a flash, Mega materialized and swung his claw, ripping the clone to shreds instantly, and then he glared forward with his fangs bared. "Nah. You'll answer to _me_."

A small opening appeared in the barrier. Ace dashed through it, narrowly avoiding a swipe from an Acid clone. "Where's Acid?"

"Get back, idiot!" Rey shouted, creating a mace to bash the copy aside.

"Acid!" Ace called, scanning the field. "Acid, hurry up!"

A beam swept through a group of clones, and then two figures rushed through their remains: Ophiuca, holding something tightly against her chest, and the real Acid. The FM-ian made a beeline for the opening in the barrier—it sealed behind her—while Acid went to Ace's side as the Satella Officer drew his Hunter.

"I apologize that we could not get here sooner, Ace," the Wizard said.

"Don't worry, pal. Let's just make up for lost time!"

Ace held out his Hunter, but Acid made no move. "Ace…are you certain?"

With a frown, Ace said, "Of course! I'm not just going to sit by when Dealer's at our door!"

Acid glanced at Tia. "…You are entirely certain?"

"I am," Ace answered without hesitation. With a final nod, Acid disappeared into Ace's Hunter, and Ace made his way across the crater.

While all this was going on, Sonia and Tia continued to stare at each other to see who was going to make the first move. Sonia had yet to launch another attack, but with the way she was glaring at Tia, it was obvious to all that she wanted to. Eventually, Tia tilted her staff.

"Look out!" Amy shouted.

The rain attack came down on Sonia, catching her off-guard. Hyde touched the ground: several shadowy hands sprouted all around Tia, trying to fence her in, and Amy made a leap. It was exactly what Tia expected. She called down another wall of light, smiting the hands and repelling Amy, and then she slowly moved forward with one eye on Sonia.

"Fine then," Sonia grunted. She played a series of notes, but the projections she produced just hung in the air. She jumped down to the ground and brandished her guitar.

"Kyahahaha, I've been waiting for this!" Virgo said. "I finally get to kill the great Harp Note! Though I gotta say, you're way more intense than I was expecting—the FM King made you out to be such a nice little girl!"

"You caught me on a bad day," Sonia said, rearing back.

"Kyahaha, fine with me! It'll be more fun this way!"

Sonia hurled the instrument. It bounced off the barrier, incurring a blast of water in response, so she rolled aside and reeled her guitar back in. When Tia moved to call down more rain, Sonia flicked a dial, and the notes above came crashing down on Tia before she could move out of the way. Seeing the opportunity, Hyde tossed his hat at Tia's hand. Her staff was pushed back, but she managed to hold onto it, and also endured the snowballs Amy hurled at her. Sonia unleashed a sound pulse, but the attack was just slow enough that Tia got her shield back in time to block it.

Sonia huffed. "What a waste of time! Even if it takes a while, you aren't going to win, so just get out of here! We've got more important things to take care of!"

Tia stared at her. A moment later, however, she turned, and Sonia tentatively glanced over her shoulder. Ace stopped next to her.

"Tia," he said. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Eventually, Tia replied, "That's because of you."

Ace smiled. "Man, I can't believe you were at Echo Ridge this whole time! We must've just kept missing each other—how crazy is that? Well, at least now we have a chance to clear the air."

Sonia cocked her head. "You know her?"

Tia looked between the two of them. "Hm. I was wondering how many people knew."

"For what it's worth, I knew," Hyde said. Everyone looked at him. "…For what it's worth…"

"Knew what?" Sonia asked.

Virgo laughed. "Oh, this is so good! You don't have a clue about Ace's history, do you? Surprise, girlie: your friend there has spent almost his whole life as one of Dealer's top operatives!"

Sonia gaped. She glanced at Ace: his expression had dulled quickly, and that was enough to let her know Virgo wasn't lying. _I guess that explains how WAZA knows so much about Dealer…_

"I gave up that life," Ace said. "I have no intentions of going back, so it doesn't really matter."

"Kyahaha, are you sure? How do you feel, Harp Note? Still think you can trust him?"

Sonia stepped forward. "If Mr. Boreal still trusts Ace, then that's good enough for me."

"Oh? You don't mind they've been hiding something this big from you for so long?"

"Shut up!" Sonia said, preparing to throw her guitar again.

Ace held out a hand. "Wait a minute."

Shooting a glare at him, she said, "What?!"

He met her gaze. "I need to talk to her. Please."

Sonia wanted to scream. Reluctantly, she lowered her weapon and took a slow step backwards.

"Thank you," Ace said. Locking eyes on Tia, he said, "Tia…I'm sorry."

Tia inclined her head. "What?"

"I don't regret leaving Dealer, but still, it didn't really go the way I wanted. What I really wanted was to take you and Jack with me."

Tia continued to stare at him.

"But…I couldn't. I left you with King, and you've had to keep suffering under him all this time. So for that, I'm sorry." He clenched his fist and raised it. "But Tia, things are different now! You don't have to keep working with that scumbag: you can stand down, come with us, and we'll keep you safe from him! Then we'll get Jack, and finally put an end to all the terrible things King is doing! We'll all finally be safe, Tia! Isn't that what you always wanted?"

After a few long moments, Tia's lips parted to reveal clenched teeth. "All of us…?" she said in a voice like ice. "You're saying we can _all_ be safe? It's far, _far_ too late for you to start saying that, Ace."

Ace gulped. "…I made a lot of mistakes. I know that now."

"Good," Tia said, lifting her staff. "I wanted you to know just how much you've done wrong…I want you to agonize over that guilt as you draw your last breath. I'm not going back with you, Ace. I still have one thing left to live for."

Ace shuddered. Raising his other hand, the one with his Hunter in it, he said, "I'm going to save you and Jack. I promise you, Tia." He grabbed his Hunter with both hands. "Transcode 001!"

He transformed in a bright flash, gaining a small amount of white and grey armor over his Satella Police uniform. The main bulk of his protection was in a boxy shape over his chest, with rounded shoulders that spawned four long, wing-shaped plates. White armor with sharp fins was on his feet and forearms, and a narrow helmet with three fins covered his head and eyes, a thin band of silver coming down over his chin as if to strap it into place.

"Hyde, Amy, you've done enough," Ace said, readying the small black blaster that he now carried. "You should go rest—I'll send word if we end up needing back-up."

Amy shook her head. "I can still fight!"

"Amy," Yeti said, "I really think we should pull back with how much damage we've taken. Just let Sonia and Ace handle things!"

"I'm afraid I must concur," Hyde said. "We'll only be a detriment if we collapse and they have to remove us from the battlefield. Let's hold off until we are needed."

Amy turned to Sonia. Trying not to sound as frustrated as she felt, Sonia said, "We can handle this."

Hesitantly, Amy cast one last look at Tia before turning and heading back towards HQ, Hyde not far behind her. Tia's staff moved. Luckily, Hyde was prepared: he gave Amy a small push before gliding away from the rain himself, and the two then quickened their pace considerably. Sonia played furiously, sending a volley of blasts at Tia's shield. She held her ground when the water came rushing at her.

"That's not going to work," Ace said.

Looking up, she snapped, "At least I'm doing something!"

A roar signaled the creation of a new water dragon. Sonia prepared a sound pulse, but before she got the chance, Ace pointed his gun and launched a spinning, bladed wheel from it; the weapon shot forward a short distance before turning sharply, intercepting the dragon and destroying it. Deciding to try something else, Sonia lowered the head of her guitar and fired her strings as Tia called a shower down on Ace. They managed to slip through the veil of water and wrap around Tia's midsection. Eagerly, Sonia sent a pulse down the wire, stunning her opponent and bringing the shield down.

"Nicely done!" Ace said. "Target locked, and…"

He held out his blaster: a small, flat blade made of energy extended from the tip. In a second he was in front of Tia, swiping at her twice before she knocked him flat with her scepter. Sonia tried another pulse, but Tia snapped the strings, pointed her staff at Sonia, and sent out a water dragon that bowled over her. Ace leapt up and aimed his gun. Tia raised her shield as a series of small electric blasts came from the barrel, and then forced Ace back with her staff. The two of them stared each other down for a moment.

"I never wanted anyone to get hurt," Ace said.

"Why should your intentions matter?" Tia asked.

"Tia, I was just a kid, and all I knew was what King was telling us! How was I supposed to—"

Another water dragon spawned from the barrier, carrying Ace away before he could finish. Sonia was back on her feet now, launching more strings, but Tia predicted this and floated out of the way. She was quick to call down more rain, and as Sonia was dodging, a flash of blue could be seen darting towards her. Geo's blade didn't even leave a dent in the barrier.

"Darn," he said as he teleported a short distance back. "…Ms. Tia, I—"

"Ugh, don't even start!" Virgo said. "All of you keep saying the same thing, and I'm so tired of it! Let's just get back to killing each other!"

"With pleasure," Mega growled. "Though I have to say, I'd much rather take out you and that rotten crow together!"

"Don't be hasty, Mega dear," Lyra said. "Ophiuca and I would very much like to have a word with Virgo. Don't go eliminating her just yet."

Geo turned slightly. "What's with you two?! We're not killing anyone, right Sonia?"

"Of course not!" Sonia said. "We aren't going to stoop to these monsters' level!"

"Kyahaha, this is fun, this is fun!" Virgo laughed. "Come on, Tia, don't stop! Let's see how many we can kill at once!"

Taking a slow step forward, Tia rapped one knuckle against the interior of her barrier. The exterior spawned a shockwave that nearly hit Sonia and Geo; not long after they dodged, however, they heard an impact and something shuddering behind them, and they quickly realized what it was. Tia struck her barrier several more times as she walked forward—Sonia and Geo blocked what they could, but most of the water blasts went right past them, pounding away at the Real Wave shield. Deciding to change tactics, Sonia shot her strings again. Tia let them wrap around her arm, wincing a bit as she endured a sound pulse, but continued to move forward, now using the end of her scepter to spawn the shockwaves.

"Dammit!" Sonia shouted, playing as fast as she could to try to wear Tia down.

"Sonia, calm down!" Lyra said.

"I can't! Nothing's working—she's not stopping—and if we can't stop her, she's going to wreck everything, and Luna…"

She paused. Seeing this, Tia whipped up another water dragon and sent it forth, tearing her free of the strings in the process. Sonia and Geo occupied themselves with destroying this projection, but out of the corner of their eye they saw two beams of energy lance into Tia from the side. Ace followed up his surprise attack with a series of rapid shots, an assault which Sonia eagerly added to. Geo took a moment to angle his buster, and then launched an arrow from it that arced high before striking Tia in the abdomen, prompting her to stumble and fall to her knees. Ace stopped firing. A few seconds later, Geo touched Sonia's arm, and she stopped too.

"Please just surrender, Tia," Ace said. "There's no need for anyone else to get hurt here."

Tia didn't even look at him as she straightened herself.

"Stand down, Tia! Acid's been running analyses on you this whole time—with the data he has now, this fight is already over!"

"Is that so?" Tia muttered. Water began to appear around her. "Then stop talking and do what you do best, Ace. Pull the trigger."

Ace stared at her for a moment. Then, he lowered his weapon. A second later, the armor plates on his back shifted, and a loud whirring noise could be heard. Red energy blasted out from behind Ace's shoulders, fanning out to create projections that resembled wings.

"I think this one needs to be more personal," he said.

Ace leaned forward…and then the energy faded. His body spasmed, and he fell to one knee, clutching his arm.

"No, not now…! Acid!"

"Limiter is activating," Acid stated. "There's nothing more I can do, Ace."

Tia's eyes glinted. A water dragon rushed straight at Ace as his Wave Change evaporated. Sonia started forward, but Geo quickly overtook her, using his Mega Attack to get in front of Ace just as the attack connected. The water clung to them both, wrapping around them in the shape of a bubble; Sonia tried to play a note as she ran, but Tia sent out a shockwave while she wasn't looking, knocking her feet out from under her. She hit the ground face-first, hearing a loud crack as an intense jolt of pain dulled her senses.

"No," Sonia said, groggily picking herself up. Her vision was blurred, and her visor was covered in a web of fractures. She tried aiming, but another shockwave sent her back down.

"Sonia," Lyra groaned. "I'm sorry, but…we're about to run out of power…I don't know how much more of this we can take!"

"Kyahahaha!" Virgo laughed. "What a stupid girl! And what stupid boys! Hurry up, Tia—we're finally going to kill them, kyahaha!"

Sonia screamed in fury, shooting blindly in the hopes that she would hit her mark. She couldn't give up, but she didn't know what to do, and though the rage was undoubtedly the loudest voice in her mind, there was another thought that still came through perfectly clear.

 _Am I really going to lose them?_

Another shockwave rolled her backwards.

 _I don't know how to save them! If I don't do something, I'm going to lose Geo! I'm going to lose Bud, and Amy, and Pat, and Zack, and Mr. Boreal, and…_

She could feel rain battering away at her, the downpour not letting up for even a second.

 _Luna…I'll really…lose…Luna…_

Sonia's thoughts suddenly shifted. The idea grew strong enough to overpower the rage, and all her thoughts snapped into focus around it. Tia was preparing one more attack—she couldn't see it, but she knew.

 _NO!_

She raised one hand as she felt water rush over her, pushing against the current with all the strength she had left. It was agony, feeling the rapids break over her, doing their best to tear her apart, but she still forced herself to stand. When it finally ended, she stayed where she was—she trembled violently, but she stayed standing, and readied her guitar. She could see clearly again.

"What the heck is that?" Virgo asked. "Oh, right, I think you were saying something about this, weren't you, Tia?"

Tia took a moment to reassess her foe. Sonia's dress was now a pale shade of green, covered by an angular black breastplate and with the outer part of her sleeve dyed purple, a pink scarf coiled around her neck. Purple had also found its way into her gloves, as well as her helmet, the nodes on which were now silvery spikes, and her greaves were green on their outer sides with a vertical purple stripe down their centers. The body of her guitar had a design on it reminiscent of the hood of a cobra, while the head sported a snake-like ornament. Tia hummed quietly, waiting to see what she would do.

Sonia looked herself over as well, but only for a second. Lifting her guitar, she aimed the head at the bubble holding Ace and Geo and played, firing off a pink beam of energy that pierced through the orb and freed them. Immediately, she set her sights on Tia.

"When…did you have time to access the Noise Server?" Lyra asked.

"I didn't," Sonia said.

"What? But then…"

Sonia bit her lip. "…Are you saying it's okay, Luna? I didn't want to, but…if you really think this is the only way…then…"

Seeing that she was distracted, Tia walked forward, closing in rapidly on the Real Wave shield. Sonia played a short song, and Tia paused mid-step: the ground before her was suddenly covered in a blanket of snakes, all closely watching her. Sparing a glance at Sonia, Tia raised her staff and began to form another water dragon.

As this was happening, Geo was helping Ace into a sitting position, asking, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Ace said, stopping to hack and cough for a few seconds. "Yeah, guess so…"

"Get over to the Wave Liner stop—you and Solo should be able to hide back in there until this is over."

"Did you say Solo?" Ace asked, turning towards the stop. Sure enough, he could just barely see the boy slumped against the wall of the entryway, watching the battle with a weary focus.

"It's a long story," Geo said. He started to get up, but Ace grabbed his arm.

"Hang on! Her barrier…it's weaker when she's attacking. If you're trying to break it, that's your best bet!"

Geo nodded. "Alright. Thank you."

"And, Geo…I'm sorry about Pat."

After a moment, Geo turned away and said, "We'll talk later."

Back at the shield, Tia was sending out shockwave after shockwave to repel the oncoming snakes. Sonia fired another laser, but her opponent floated out of the way, and she dodged a counterattack—only to immediately regret leaving the Real Wave barrier unprotected.

"…Sonia," Lyra said. "I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but…while this form is certainly giving us more to work with…"

"It doesn't really have a good way to stop her," Sonia said. "I know. But, I don't have time to switch forms. We're just going to have to do the best we can with these abilities…unless…"

Tia called down more pillars of light, letting them sweep away the snakes as she walked forward. Sonia waited for an opening in the lights and aimed at Tia's feet: she hoped her laser could create enough stone to shackle her to the ground, but the barrier just absorbed the shot, and she had to use her guitar to block the retaliation shockwave. Tia was only a few steps away from her now. Sonia wondered if it was better to take the hit or let the shield take more damage, but as a water dragon began to take shape, Geo appeared behind Tia. Making a fist, he threw an electrified jab that punched right through Tia's veil and hit her in the back of the head, releasing a shock that stunned her and caused her shield to instantly vanish.

"We have to stop her now!" Geo said, readying another Battle Card.

Nodding, Sonia pointed the head of her guitar at Tia and fired, pushing her back and nearly making her fall over. Geo spun into a small whirlwind, keeping Tia too dizzy to attack, and then Sonia struck her with a sound pulse. As Geo unloaded a series of rapid shots, Tia gripped her staff tightly. Sonia fired one quick sound blast before the shield came back up. Geo reluctantly prepared to defend, but no attack came. Tia turned slowly. She knew her foes must be close, but she couldn't be sure where, since Sonia's last attack had temporarily blinded her.

"Lyra," Sonia whispered, jumping a few feet back. "Is it possible to access two Noise Changes at once?"

Lyra thought about it briefly, ultimately replying, "Let's find out."

Tia blinked as her vision started to return. Geo said, "Ms. Tia…I don't want to fight you, but I'm not going to let you destroy WAZA."

"Shut up already!" Virgo shouted. "Ugh, you stupid brats just don't know when to quit! I'm getting real fed up with this, Tia: let's kill someone already!"

Tia raised her staff and locked eyes on Geo as he slowly circled around her. Then, she turned to look at Sonia. She saw the girl pull one hand in front of herself, and moved to fire off a water dragon, but all she did was give Geo the opportunity he needed to ram a drill through her shield. Sonia's armor flashed briefly before changing to a darker shade of green complimented by gold, her guitar transforming to the shape belonging to Crown Noise. While Geo jumped up and unloaded a ferocious series of blasts, Sonia began to play, calling up three tiny skulls coated in electricity that trailed behind them like the bodies of snakes. The small creatures darted over to Tia and flung themselves up at her, leaving her too confused to reform her shield, and Sonia pointed her guitar as Geo charged his buster. Neither said a word as they fired. One massive blast came from Geo's side, while Sonia fired a beam made of focused electricity; caught in the middle of both, Tia felt a sharp, stinging pain, and then her knees buckled and gave out, her staff rolling away as she hit the ground.

"Are you…kidding me?!" Virgo screamed. "No way is this happening! No way, no way, no way, no waaaaaay!"

Geo picked up the staff, keeping his buster armed. Sonia approached quickly, saying, "Give it up already. It's over."

Tia looked up at her, her expression still blank. "…No. There's still Jack. It isn't over yet…"

"Sure, whatever," Mega said. "Why don't the two of you separate and we can have a nice long chat?"

"Screw you!" Virgo said. "Like I'd really let you idiots capture me!"

In the next second, Tia's Wave Change was undone, and Virgo floated in the air above her.

"Huh?" Mega said. "Hey, wait a sec!"

The FM-ian turned and bolted across the sky, her decision too sudden for anyone to do anything about it.

"Why that…!"

Tia looked up after her for a moment. Then, she looked down at the ground, and sat perfectly still.

"Her cowardice is truly astounding," Lyra said. "Well…at least we've secured one of them."

Ace approached then. He stared at Tia for a moment, and then reached into his uniform to pull out a pair of handcuffs.

"Queen Tia…you are hereby under arrest."

* * *

The main computer room of WAZA HQ was unnervingly quiet, the only sounds being those made by Vega and Goodall as they made the final adjustments for the reconstruction process. Boreal sat at a table with his hands over his face. Sonia stood nearby, eyes on the two doctors, while Amy and Zack tended to Bud on the other side of the room, and Geo and Pat sat a few steps away. Copper was along the other wall glaring at Ace, who either hadn't noticed or didn't have anything to say. Hyde was next to the machinery, ready in case Vega needed anything, and Solo just stood in the midst of the room periodically glancing around at everyone.

"So Chief," Ace finally said, rubbing his shoulder. "Any news from the other branches?"

Boreal lowered his hands enough that his eyes were visible. "NetFrica HQ managed to repel the invasion, but their facilities suffered immense damage in the process. They're crippled. And as for everyone else…"

Ace crossed his arms. "Then it looks like we're on our own."

"For some reason hearing you say that makes me nervous," Copper grumbled. "Like you're going to use it as justification for another one of your hare-brained schemes."

"Don't be like that, detective," he said, smiling. "Everything worked out in the end."

Copper stepped forward. "Everything…? The Satella Police are in shambles after that battle! All of our officers, humans and Wizards, are out of commission, and that's not even getting started on how banged up our Wave Change users are! And despite all that, we have only one untalkative captive to show for it! I'd hardly say this all worked out, Ace!"

"I didn't know you were so worried about us. Don't sweat it, I'll be fine."

"I'm more worried about…"

He sighed. Bud raised his fist, saying, "No, I'll be okay too! I'm just a little sore is all. Ow!"

"Just relax, Bud," Amy said.

"Yeah, I know."

She paused a moment. "Bud…are you doing okay?"

He let out a breath. "I really wish I coulda put up more of a fight against her. It sucks that I wasn't able to contribute at all to that fight."

Amy set a hand on his arm, and he grinned at her.

"So I'll just have to do better next time! I'm gonna get back on my feet, and I'm gonna train until I'm stronger than ever, no matter how long it takes me! Wait and see: I'll get so strong I'll even be able to take on that Joker guy!"

A relieved smile came over Amy's face. "Alright. And I'll be training with you! Now that the cat's out of the bag there's no sense in going back to the sidelines!"

"I knew you were going to say that," Yeti said. "Well, if that's what you want, then I'll help you out. I may not be able to stop you from fighting, but I'll definitely keep you safe, Amy."

As Amy thanked him, Sonia turned to look at Boreal. "Apparently Joker was in Alohaha to fight Solo," she said. "I don't think I got a chance to tell you that."

Boreal nodded and looked over at Solo. "…So. You're fighting with Dealer as well?"

"I am," Solo said.

Boreal waited a moment, and then asked, "Can you tell us why?"

Solo took a moment to organize his thoughts, finally saying, "I've reason to believe they have something they should not."

When it became apparent that was all he was offering, Boreal leaned back in his chair, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"He used to work for you, correct?"

"…That's right. And he must have taken Acid's blueprints when he left—that's the only way I can explain how Dealer would be able to make so many copies. I'm just glad they went for quantity over quality, or else we could have been in real trouble."

Mega scoffed. "Right, cause Acid's _so_ tough. He didn't even last long in that fight—we did the real heavy lifting!"

"Our contributions were reduced only due to my built-in restrictions," Acid stated. "Had we continued fighting any longer, the damage done to Ace's body would have far exceeded the damage we would have caused to Queen Tia."

"Why is that?" Geo asked. "Is there something wrong with your Wave Change?"

"I wouldn't say 'wrong', but…" Ace began, ultimately trailing off. He drew his Hunter, and Acid materialized next to him. "Well, you've probably noticed that man-made Wizards look a bit more 'solid' than FM-ians and the like, right? Natural EM beings usually look like clouds of energy with bits of armor, but the ones we make are pretty much all armor."

"While we _can_ now create our own EM beings," Boreal picked up, "the process is not perfected by any stretch of the imagination. Keeping an amorphous being's body together is a very, very tricky process, and we just haven't figured it out. So with current Wizards, in order to keep the entity's waves from drifting too far apart and dissipating, their bodies are compressed to an incredibly high degree, which is why they look…'solid'. And, unfortunately, that also applies to the Wave Changes produced using these Wizards."

Ace nodded. "Such high-level compression puts a lot more stress on my body than a normal Wave Change. Acid's constantly monitoring my vitals, and if they ever reach a certain threshold, our Wave Change automatically deactivates. I keep telling them it's set too high—I can take more stress than they give me credit for."

"So that's why you haven't experimented with more Wave Change-capable Wizards," Sonia said. After a pause, she asked, "I've been wondering about Transcode 002. When we encountered Solo, I thought maybe it was him, but he doesn't have a Hunter so I don't see how he'd be connected to the network that registers them." She paused again. "It's Joker, isn't it?"

"…Yes and no," Ace answered. "Joker was originally planned to be a part of Wave Change Wizard testing, so 002 was registered as a placeholder he would eventually assume. He never actually took it, but it's still sort of his."

Sonia nodded slowly. "Something else. When I met him, he said we were drawing power from a 'Meteor Server'." She faced Boreal, but he wouldn't look her in the eye. A long, uncomfortable silence followed.

With a powerful sigh, Boreal said, "It wasn't on a course for Earth, so we thought saying anything would create a problem where there wasn't one, but…yes. The Noise Server is actually what we would classify as a meteor, officially dubbed 'Meteor G'."

"And what does the 'G' stand for, exactly?" Lyra asked.

"No one could really agree," Ace said. "Giant, Grand, Grave…a lot of possibilities got tossed out, we just kind of settled on 'G' in the end."

"Since Dealer's so focused on Noise," Sonia said, "I'm guessing the meteor has something to do with their goals?"

"That's right," Ace said. "Dealer's ultimate goal is to take control of Meteor G, and use its powerful Noise to take control of the world."

"And now Joker's with them, and he has a program than can access it. That sounds pretty bad."

"Hard to say exactly how bad, but…Meteor G does appear to be getting closer to Earth, so…"

Everyone looked up. "It's headed for Earth?" Geo asked.

"It's moving very slowly—we still have plenty of time to deal with it," Boreal assured.

"How _are_ we going to deal with it?"

"Until we know exactly what Dealer is doing to it, it's difficult to say for sure. But defeating them is going to be essential."

"So we just keep at it," Sonia mumbled, "and hope that when we do stop Dealer, the way to stop the meteor is obvious."

No one else said a word until the doctors stopped their work. Approaching them, Goodall said, "Conditions are as ideal as they'll ever be. If we're going to do this, we've got to do it now."

Sonia swallowed hard. As she came forward, Goodall, Vega, and a few other scientists took up stations all along the machinery, and at the flick of a switch a low hum filled the air. Ophiuca emerged from the corner she had been hiding in and approached as well. In her hands she held a large ball of light, and at the prompting of Goodall, she inserted it into an opening and reluctantly moved back.

"Let's begin," Goodall said, her face frozen as she stared directly at the screen in front of her. "100% of Luna Platz's data accounted for. Now activating reconstruction program…"

Sonia fixed her eyes on the machinery in front of her. She was vaguely aware of the others around her—she thought Geo might be saying something—but nothing else felt real, none of it registered. The only thing she could think about was this last chance to save Luna.

At first, everything seemed to be going smoothly. Every few seconds one of the scientists would make some observation, and Goodall would respond, at the same time carefully watching her own screen while her fingers darted over the buttons laid out for them. The first thing that indicated a reason to be concerned was Vega flinching slightly.

"…Reconstruction speed has slowed," she reported. "Correction, is slowing."

"Increase support functions to compensate," Goodall replied.

"Compensating…negative. It's not having any effect."

"Dr. Goodall," said another scientist, "if we push those functions any further it's likely to lock up the entire system."

One of the others glanced back at the spectators before saying, "Data is beginning to degrade."

Sonia started shaking.

"Deactivate auto-support and switch to manual input, at my station," Goodall ordered.

Her colleagues all looked at her, one of them saying, "Manual? Doctor, stabilizing this process with manual input is just impossible!"

Goodall didn't look up. "That's no reason to give up. Switch to manual input."

"…Switching to manual input…"

The speed of Goodall's fingers increased. Vega said, "Reconstruction speed stabilizing…degradation has ceased. Analysis shows no corruption—I think we're back on track."

"Prepare to engage the rematerialization process, at one-third default settings," Goodall said. "We need to get the timing precisely right."

"Standing ready," came the reply.

Someone next to her was saying something, Sonia was sure. She couldn't make out what it was.

"Now!" Goodall said.

More and more lights flashed down the length of the machines. The hum grew louder. Goodall typed away, never stopping for a split second, and all anyone else could do was watch. After about a minute of silence, one of the lights flashed red.

"Reconstruction is slowing immensely!" Vega said. "Rematerialization process as well…data integrity is…oh no…"

Goodall shouted her orders, but suddenly Sonia couldn't make those out either. It was as if her senses just ceased to function altogether, as if she had just stepped away from reality and it was going on without her. A chaotic jumble of thoughts and emotions filled her head, and for what seemed like forever, she was lost in it, having no clue what was going on or what she was feeling. A hand on her shoulder and it became crystal clear all at once.

"Sonia…" Geo said.

Tears erupted from her eyes. More and more lights were turning red.

"Luna," Sonia said. "Luna…don't leave me…"

She took a step forward. Geo tried to gently keep her back, but she kept moving.

"Please, don't go! I need you! I can't do this without you, Luna!"

"Sonia!" Geo said, moving forward and wrapping his arms around her. "Sonia, we need to stay back!"

She leaned forward, struggling against him as she continued to cry out. "Don't leave me! I did everything I could—I did my best to save you! You're supposed to be okay now! Come back, Luna! I'm not ready to lose you!"

Vega pounded furiously at her terminal. "I'm doing everything I can to keep the data intact, but I need more power! Somebody reroute energy from all non-essential functions!"

"In progress," someone said, "but if we don't get the process realigned soon the data _will_ corrupt!"

"It's not over," Goodall said. Try as she might to stay calm, a hint of desperation was creeping into her voice. "Just stay focused, and…"

"I can't lose you!" Sonia sobbed, sinking to her knees. "Don't do this to me, Luna! Don't give up, not when we're this close! You have to make it! You just…have to…"

"Corruption inevitable," someone said. "Dr. Goodall…I don't see how we can stop this."

"Just keep trying!" Goodall said. "There has to be some way!"

Vega clenched her teeth. "…It's slowing too much…she…she's…"

Geo tightened his hold on Sonia. She hung her head, trying one last time to pull away, and said, "Please, Luna…I love you so much…please, don't leave me…I need you…"

The hum began to dim. Sonia's heart plummeted.

Staring wide-eyed at her screen, Vega said, "…It's…stabilizing…"

Unsure of what she had heard, Sonia turned to look at her.

"D-Data is retaining integrity! Reconstruction sequence is stabilizing—no, it's actually picking up! Modifying rematerialization program to match!"

Sonia looked up at the machine. "…Luna…?"

"This is incredible!" one of the scientists said. "It's some kind of miracle!"

Goodall continued to type away, and a small smile came to her face. "Don't act so surprised, dear. Miracles happen all the time."

The lights along the machinery all returned to normal, and soon a hissing sound could be heard from the tall, cylindrical chamber attached to it. Sonia held her breath as she stared at it. One be one, the scientists all turned away from their stations to watch the chamber, Goodall being the last. Slowly, the glass wall of the chamber pulled aside, revealing an off-balance, confused-looking, but very much alive Luna.

"Oooh," she groaned, taking a few shaky steps out of the chamber. "What happened…?"

Sonia got to her feet—Geo had finally let go of her. "Luna…? Is that really you?"

Luna faced her. "Huh? What do you mean—of course it's me! What kind of…" She paused, taking a good look around. "…Are we at WAZA? What's going on?"

"Luna!" Sonia shouted, rushing over and nearly tackling her to the ground. "Y-You're okay! You're really okay! Hahaha! Luna's okay!"

"H-Hey, easy! I'm not…feeling well, for some reason…wait, why are you so upset? Sonia?"

Sonia kissed her, saying, "I'm so glad you're okay…I love you, Luna."

Luna blushed a little. "Y-Yeah, I know…I love you too."

Sonia held Luna tight, the other girl glancing around in confusion for another moment before returning the embrace.

"Sonia…what happened?"

* * *

Notes:

-At first I was going to end this chapter with Queen Virgo's defeat, but since reconstructing Luna could also be considered the climax of this scenario I thought it would be best to put both events in the same chapter. Also I was glancing over everything I want to put in chapter 18 and was worried it might run too long and did not want this scenario extending into 19 if there was any way to avoid it.

-As shown somewhat already with King, I'm going to be playing up the "family" aspect of Dealer a bit more here, so Ace and Tia's relationship is more like that of siblings than the romantic one in canon. Well, estranged siblings. We'll get more interaction between them in the next chapter.

-Ophiuca Noise needed a dramatic entrance. Sonia and Luna are still linked by their BrotherBand, so Sonia's taking this as Luna lending her the strength she needs to finish this fight and get on with reconstructing her. (She does hate to be kept waiting.) Whether it's that, or Sonia's strong feelings unconsciously accessing the Server, I'll let you decide which you prefer. So, obviously Ophiuca Noise can summon and control snakes, and can fire Gorgon Eye-style lasers, but it also allows Sonia to inflict status ailments on her foes, a broader application of Queen Ophiuca's poison abilities.

-Multi-Noise is also introduced here, and it's probably going to become a staple as we enter the second act. While SF3 abandoned changing the buster with each form, since Sonia's guitar does continue to change, I'm doing what I did last time and having combined forms use the guitar associated with whichever form was activated second. Like I said already, we won't be seeing every possible Noise Change and Multi-Noise is a big reason why, but I'll try to cover as many as I can for the sake of variety.

-I don't think the game really clarified what happened to Virgo when Tia was captured? I can't imagine she'd stay put, so for now she's going to…get reinforcements? Or maybe just sneak off into the background. Not 100% sure, she's a wild card, but she'll reappear when the time is right.

-At the risk of sounding a bit cruel, I do like that Earth's scientists haven't totally cracked Wave Change—taking such a leap in technology might've been a bit hard to believe, so I like that SF3 opted to give us an imperfect process as a sort of in-between step. The "solid" look of man-made Wizards was probably just to emphasis their artificial nature, but it seemed like a good way to clarify exactly what the flaw in Acid Ace's fusion is, so I ran with it. (Should probably say, Lyra is a natural EM being who is mostly "solid", so analyzing her data will most likely be a big help in furthering this research—I wanted to bring this up in the chapter, but there was already so much being said and I'm already concerned about how it flows…)

-002 is one of only two canon Transcodes I'm changing. (Cygnus is the other.) Like Sonia says, Solo doesn't have a Hunter so I don't see why his Wave Change would be registered; supplemental material says that Joker had a Transcode of 000 as a sort of honorary title, so switching that to 002 to fill in the gap doesn't seem like too much of a leap to me.

-Deleted scene: "Our records do say there was a similar meteor crisis about 200 years ago." "How did NAZA handle it then?" "They, uh…decided to hold a tournament…for some reason…" (Love you, Battle Network.)

-It was really difficult for me to conceptualize exactly how a reconstruction program like this would work, so if the description surrounding it seems a bit lackluster I do apologize. Dearly hoping the scene overall still works…

-Okay, now to wrap up loose ends and set the stage for act two of this story. Things are going to be structured a little differently, and it's looking like it might be a bit longer than I first anticipated, but I've got some great stuff planned that I can't want to show you all! Since I don't have a complete draft of chapter 18 I can't guarantee a date, but I'll do my best!


	18. Chapter 18

Sonia sat outside the infirmary fidgeting constantly. Lyra floated nearby, keeping an eye on her but not really having anything to offer. Both checked the clock again and again, taking a look at the door each time, unable to stop themselves even though they knew it wasn't going to help anything. When a doctor finally did step out of the room, Sonia leapt straight to her feet.

Before she could say anything, the doctor said, "We've finished the tests, and she's fine physically. But, she is still a little shaken."

She clenched and unclenched her fist. "…Can I…?"

The doctor nodded. Sonia gently pushed the door open and peered inside: there were a number of beds lining the wall, but they were all empty save for the closest, where Luna sat wearing a hospital gown and with her hair hanging loose behind her. Ophiuca hovered near her, and glanced up when the door opened. Luna smiled when she saw Sonia, but she still radiated unease.

"Hey," Sonia said as she came closer. "The doctor said your tests went well."

Luna nodded once, and then averted her eyes. She stared at the wall for a few seconds, then bit her lip, turned back to Sonia, and said, "I, um…well, thanks…for saving me…"

With a grin, Sonia replied, "Don't mention it! I'd do anything for you, Luna."

Tentatively, Luna extended her hand; Sonia stepped forward to take it. Luna stared, confused, at their fingers for a moment, and then opened her mouth to say something. She stopped. Sonia lightly rubbed the back of her hand, waiting patiently until she tried again.

"Sonia," Luna mumbled. "Is this…real…? A-Am I really…"

Sonia touched her shoulder, locking eyes with her. "Yes. It's real, Luna. You're really here with me."

Luna just stared into her eyes for a time. She breathed deeply, and then started to look around the room. "It's just…it's weird to think about…I mean, I was…I was in pieces? And I don't remember anything…Joker attacked me, and then…"

Her eyes slowly widened. Sonia could feel her pulse starting to quicken. She calmly said, "Luna, I'm here for you. You're safe, okay? I'm right here."

Luna shut her eyes tight, pulling one hand over her face. Eventually, she looked at Sonia, and then reached both arms out—Sonia hugged her, feeling Luna cling to her more tightly than she ever had before. Sonia was sure her grip was just as tight. She was so happy to see Luna whole again, but at the same time, it broke her heart to see her hurting. When at last they let go, Sonia sat down on the bed next to her, still holding fast to Luna's hand.

"I'm not sure how to make sense of it," Luna said, her voice so quiet Sonia could only just hear her. "I just feel…disturbed, I guess…and really unsure in general…" She looked up, but hesitated.

"It was a bit jarring for me as well, when I was reconstructed," Ophiuca said. "Perhaps not as much, given that EM beings are at least aware of the idea of being broken up, but it was bizarre to realize I had actually been put back together."

Luna turned to her. "How did you…?"

"I realized that, truthfully, I was just glad to be alive. And that that was all I needed to focus on. The minute details of what had already transpired seemed not to matter quite so much, and that unsettling feeling just slowly and naturally found its way out of my mind."

"I see," Luna mumbled.

Sonia waited.

"…Well, it doesn't help matters that these doctors kept me up all night," Luna added as she rubbed her eye, her tone sounding a bit more familiar. "Of course I'm grateful for their dedication, but I have a policy against all-nighters for a reason."

"Do you want to rest?" Sonia said.

Luna squeezed her hand. "…I…don't want to be alone…"

"I won't leave you alone."

"Neither will I, of course," Ophiuca said.

"Go ahead and rest a bit, dear," Lyra said. "We'll all still be here when you wake up."

After a few seconds, Luna shifted a little. Instantly catching her meaning, Sonia moved back a bit, and then Luna laid down so that her head came to rest on Sonia's lap.

"…Thank you," Luna said. "I'm really…really glad you're all here…"

Sonia reached down to stroke her hair. "There's nowhere I'd rather be than by your side, Luna."

It wasn't long before Luna was asleep. It wasn't long after that Sonia could feel her trembling. Biting her lip, Sonia just kept stroking Luna's hair, and after calming herself down a bit, she started to sing quietly. Gradually, Luna's shaking stopped. Even when she finally seemed to be resting easy, Sonia kept singing.

* * *

"…and that's when you showed up."

Geo closed his eyes, taking a moment to process what Ace had told him.

"We were in serious trouble," Ace added, "and Pat said that he wanted to help if he could. It was his decision."

"Sounds like you sort of led him into it," Geo mumbled. "Ace…I can kind of get your reasoning, and if this is what Pat wants then I'm not going to stop him. But…"

"You don't think it was a good idea to take him to see Gemini?"

Geo sighed. "I don't know. And I guess that's my problem: I don't know what to expect from Gemini in this situation, or how this could affect Pat and Rey long term. I'm worried about them, and I'm not entirely convinced it was necessary to put them up to it."

"We'll be keeping a close eye on them, Geo. At the first sign of trouble, we'll call the whole thing off—you don't have anything to worry about."

After a very, very long pause, Geo said, "I'm sorry, Ace, but…it's a little difficult for me to trust you right now."

Ace slowly nodded. "Alright. That's fair."

Geo turned and headed down the hall, saying, "I'm going to go check on them. I'm sure I'll see you later."

Ace turned in the opposite direction, and took a moment to prepare himself before he started walking. He came upon a door with three locks and two guards—nodding to his colleagues, he punched in the access codes, waited for a flash of green light, and opened the door just enough that he could slip inside. The room beyond had dark gray walls, and was divided in two by a series of bars that ran from ceiling to floor. A bed was on the other side, and sitting at its foot, facing away and gazing out the window, was Tia. Ace pulled up a chair.

"I was glad to hear you weren't injured," he said. "Things got a little crazy there, but I guess Virgo's defenses really are insanely tough."

Tia didn't react. Ace reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a candy bar.

"Want a Mega Snack?"

Receiving no response, he shrugged and undid the wrapper.

"Well, in that case, hope you don't mind."

As he took the first bite, Tia turned her head ever so slightly. "…Congratulating yourself on a mission well done?"

Ace chuckled as he looked over the treat. "Nah, I'm eating these all the time now. Wanted to stop thinking of them as a reward."

"Is it working?"

"Can't tell. They still taste good, though."

They remained in silence until Ace had finished the bar. Before he could reach for another, Tia asked, "Where is my pendant?"

"It's safe. No need to worry about it."

"I'm supposed to believe you?"

"I know how much it means to you, Tia: I won't let anything happen to it."

Tia's eyes narrowed just a bit. "You've already destroyed everything else I cared about. Why should this be different?"

Ace stared at her for a moment. "You still have Jack."

She faced the window again.

"C'mon, Tia. Tell us where King's hiding now—the sooner we can get to Jack, the better."

"You're so eager to capture him too?"

"I'm eager to reunite the two of you. He's not going to do well once he finds out you're in custody, Tia, you know that. We have to get to him before he has a chance to do anything reckless. I'm only pushing the issue because I care about him."

Tia flinched. "…So… _now_ you care…"

"Of course I care about him. And you too. I promised you, I'm going to save the both of you, but you've got to help me out."

"Just get your new team to track him down. You always do your best work when you have someone else to use."

"I always thought we did our best work together. You and I were always the leaders of our little family."

In a flash, Tia was on her feet and whirled to face Ace. "You and I?!" she said, an intense fury quickly seeping into her voice. "No, Ace, _you_ were the 'leader'—you led all the other kids off to die, led them in droves to be slaughtered so that King would congratulate you on completing whatever he'd told you to do! I was doing whatever I could to keep them safe from your recklessness!"

Ace closed his eyes. "I didn't…I never _wanted_ them to die."

"But you never did anything to keep them alive, did you?" Tia said, stalking forward and gripping the bars. "You just kept charging ahead no matter who was mowed down—you never even looked back, not once! Do you…"

She gritted her teeth.

"Do you know…how many I had to watch die? How many times I _felt_ the life drain out of someone right in my grasp? I tried to save them, but there wouldn't be anything I could do…some of them actually told me to leave them behind, but most of them just cried, scared and confused. And every time…every time…King would give you that stupid candy and pat you on the head, and then punish me for not staying focused on the mission."

Ace opened his eyes, but he didn't look at her. "…You never stopped, though."

Tia leaned her head against the bars. "No, I did. I had to…to keep Jack safe…"

Ace looked up.

"Eventually there were so few of us. If one of the others went down, it usually meant Jack was in the line of fire next. And, I…if I stopped to try to save the other, then I wouldn't have been able to keep Jack safe…so I stopped." Tears started to drip from her face. "I let them die…I had to, to keep Jack safe…I couldn't lose him…even if it meant losing everyone else, I couldn't lose Jack…" She glared at Ace. "So I had to let the others die. Or else you would've gotten _him_ killed too."

"I was a kid too," Ace said. "I didn't understand what was going on, not really. All I knew was that if I didn't do what King asked, I was going to get punished just the same." He looked down at the candy bar in his hand.

"Is that what you tell yourself?" Tia asked. "You didn't know, so that makes it okay? But now things are different: now you can lead a whole new group of kids off to be slaughtered, because the first time you didn't know any better. You're doing the same thing you've always done, Ace. Stop lying and just resign yourself to it, like I have."

"But you haven't given up."

"…What?"

"When you infiltrated Echo Ridge, you decided to pose as a student teacher, right? You saw another opportunity to take care of a bunch of kids, and you felt like you wanted to try again, to try to do a better job this time. Right?"

Tia said nothing.

"…And I guess that's why you're so mad at me now. Because some of those same kids are on my team, and you're afraid I'm going to get them killed."

Ace stood and took one step forward.

"I won't let anything happen to them, Tia. I promise you. I might not have it all figured out yet, but this time, I know that what I'm doing affects others too, and I'm not going to get anyone else killed by being reckless. Not anymore." He took a deep breath. "So please…tell me where King is hiding. Tell me where to find Jack."

Tia glared at him for what felt like hours. Ultimately, her eyes returned to their usual dull, uninterested stare, and she stepped away from the bars.

"No, Ace," she said. "No matter what you say, I'll never be able to trust you. Not with Jack."

She sat down, looking out the window once again. Ace remained standing there for a minute, then slowly walked out.

* * *

Sonia turned at the sound of the door opening, seeing Luna emerge in her regular clothes. "Hey. Oh...hang on a second." She reached up and adjusted the other girl's bow.

"Guess I hurried too much," Luna said. "Thanks for catching that."

"No problem!"

Taking Luna by the hand, Sonia led her down the hall in the direction of the lobby. She glanced at her quickly: she seemed like her usual self for the most part, but despite her rest she still looked a bit worn out. Suddenly, Luna started.

"Ah, I almost forgot!" she said. "The election's just a little over a week from now—I still need to co-ordinate my final campaign effort with everyone."

After a short delay, Sonia smiled. "I'm sure they'd understand if you took a few days to recuperate."

Luna shook her head. "I can't afford to let up this late in the game. We need to hold onto our momentum if we want a decisive victory! Besides…" She fidgeted. "It might be nice to get back to my usual routine…keep busy, you know?"

"Alright. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help!"

They rounded a corner.

"…Hey, Sonia?" Luna said. "About Dealer—"

"Don't worry about it," Sonia interrupted. "Just leave that to me."

"Well, I…I mean, I think I need a break for now, but I'll want to come back eventually."

"It'll be okay, Luna. You don't have to."

Luna tugged on Sonia's arm. "Well of course not. What I'm saying is that I _want_ to stay informed so that I can help you out again when I'm ready."

Sonia hesitated.

"…And it might be a while. We can discuss that later, I guess. But don't think I'm going to stand for being kept in the dark in the meantime! I expect to remain in the loop!"

"Luna…" Sonia stopped to choose her words. "I don't want to put you in danger again. I don't want to make it any more difficult for you to heal. Going forward…it could get really hard on you, and you shouldn't have to be put through that."

Their pace slowed to a halt. Luna's eyes scanned the floor as she began, "Today…or, yesterday, I guess…it was really scary. I know I need some time to cope with it, and I'm going to take it. But…" She looked Sonia in the eye. "I don't want to just stop fighting forever. No, I refuse to let this stop me forever! I still want to help you, Sonia—I'm still determined to do everything I can to keep _you_ safe! I'm going to get my strength back so that I can lend it to you, and to the others as well, so that we can stop Dealer before they have the chance to hurt more people!"

Sonia was the one to break eye contact. "Luna…"

Luna stepped in closer, pressing her forehead against Sonia's. "I know you're going to worry, and I'm sorry. But I'm going to worry about you too. If I stay away longer than I need to, then I'll just be wondering what's happening, wondering if maybe you're in danger and that maybe if I was there you'd have better chances. I'd hate to just…sit around doing nothing when I'm perfectly capable of helping."

Closing her eyes, Sonia sighed softly.

"Like I said, it might be a while. Let's just let that be enough for now."

"…Alright," Sonia said. She looked at Luna for a moment, and then kissed her.

"Now then," Luna said as they resumed walking. "What's the plan going forward? I heard that we managed to take Ms. Tia into custody, but has she said anything?"

"As far as I'm aware, no," Sonia said. "And I doubt Jack will just show up at school. We still don't have much to go on, but…"

"But?"

"I don't know. I wasn't taking Dealer seriously before, and it…well, now I know I need to. So I wish there was more I could do than just wait and react to them. I want to find a way to go on the offensive."

When Luna didn't respond, Sonia turned towards her. She recognized the uneasy look in her eye.

"…I must seem pretty on-edge, huh? I'm sorry. I'll settle down before I have the chance to get carried away."

"No, I just…when you're upset, I…" She turned away, blushing. "Well, you know."

Sonia chuckled.

"You have every right to be frustrated. I heard about how badly you wanted to save me, and…well, with the Tuner…"

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"The Noise Control Programs were derived from the Tuner your mom made, so I figured knowing Joker had one…"

Sonia stumbled a bit. _…I…hadn't thought of that…_

Seeing this, Luna said, "Oh, no, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to—I figured that was part of why you…I shouldn't have said anything."

Sonia shook her head. "No, don't worry. I guess I was just so focused on…other things that I hadn't gotten that far yet." She watched herself walk for a moment. "But, now that I think about it, it does bother me that Mama's program is being misused. One more reason to stop Joker, I guess."

Luna felt like there was something she should say, but she couldn't figure out what it was. Before she could, they finally reached the lobby, and Sonia helped her down the stairs to where the rest of their friends waited. They rushed over the moment they saw her.

"Prez!" Bud exclaimed. "I'm so glad to see you're okay! I mean, we knew you were okay, but now you're up and about and stuff!"

"It was really a relief when Mr. Boreal told us there wasn't a problem with any of your tests," Zack said. "How do you feel?"

"More tired than anything, really," Luna replied. "Anyway, sorry for worrying you all."

"Don't apologize!" Bud said. "It's not like you did anything!"

"That's right!" Zack said. "We know you'd worry for us if we were in danger!"

"We're just happy to see you safe, Prez," Geo said. "Aren't you always saying it's part of a Brother's job to worry?"

Luna paused for a moment. Slowly, a smile came to her face, and she giggled to herself. "Thank you all. That…really means a lot to me."

"Okay," Mega said, "now that the sappy stuff's out of the way, can we get going? I'm getting tired of this boring ol' place."

"Right," Luna said. "We've got business to attend to! As soon as we get back home, we're holding a campaign meeting to determine how we're going to handle the rest of our time leading up to the election!"

"Straight to work, huh?" Pat said. "Now we _know_ she's fine."

"That's right! And I better not hear a single complaint from any of you!"

"Understood, ma'am," Geo said.

Just as they turned to face the door, someone called out from the upper level. Ace made his way down the stairs, saying, "Sorry to butt in, but there are a couple things we should settle while you're all here. If you don't mind?"

Sonia ground her teeth, but she didn't object. Geo said, "I assumed it was back to waiting for the next incident, unless you've got some new information for us."

"No new information, no," Ace said. "But after yesterday, we're a lot less prepared for a new incident than we were. Our troops here will bounce back fine enough, but all of our regional branches are down, meaning we have no back-up and no one else keeping an eye out for us. I thought we should address the sudden lack of manpower."

"Well, how do we do that?" Bud asked. "We can't just replace so many people at once, can we?"

Ace glanced at Sonia. She thought a moment, absent-mindedly rubbing her fingers against Luna's. Ultimately, she looked up at him and said, "Go on, tell them."

She got a sick feeling seeing the glint that entered Ace's eye. He turned to the group and said, "We may not be able to get our analysts and Satella Officers back, but we have another option—one that's worth a lot more. We can get more fighters who can use Wave Change."

"Hang on a second," Mega said, materializing. "You're not still thinking about bringing Wolf onboard here, are you?"

"Him, and all the other FM-ians and PM-ians still on Earth, if they're willing."

"Oh of course," Gemini muttered, "because _I'm_ a willing participant in all of this…"

Everyone exchanged glances, not knowing what to make of the idea. Mega, fangs curled into a snarl, said, "No way are we dragging Wolf into this mess! The guy's been through enough, and he _can't_ know that Corvus and Virgo are on-planet! You don't know how bad an idea that would be!"

Giving him a puzzled look, Geo asked, "Wolf knows them? How?"

Mega didn't look at him. "It's a long story, kid, and I ain't in the mood to tell it."

"Wolf seemed interested in what's been going on," Ace said. "From what I've heard, he'd be a real asset to the team."

"Wolf's out of the question!" Mega said. "That's the bottom line, pal!"

"Your assertions remain unconvincing without additional explanation," Acid replied. "We have yet to be given any information that would logically preclude an idea as useful as recruiting Wolf Woods."

Before Mega could say anything, Ace said, "Alright, alright, I get it: if you don't want to talk about Wolf, we won't talk about Wolf. I won't approach him."

Mega nodded. "Good!"

Ace pulled out his Hunter, calling up a few files on his screen. "Aside from him, and barring the possibility of finding a partner for our friend Plesio, that still leaves quite a few candidates worth exploring. How about it? A few extra pairs of hands would've been a big help in Tia's siege."

Bud scratched his head, saying, "Well…why not? I mean, we're just gonna ask them if they want to help, right? What's the harm in that?"

Sonia turned to face him. "But what if they don't understand what they're getting into, Bud? This is way more dangerous than we first thought, and we won't be able to really guarantee anyone's safety."

"Wouldn't it be safer for all of us if we had more help?" Pat asked. "And even if some of us don't completely get the hang of things, we can still take care of smaller jobs so that our best fighters can focus on the real problems. I think it makes sense."

Geo glanced at him nervously. "I don't know, Pat. I mean, we need to think about who we're talking about. Claud and Kidd might not be ready to deal with opponents like this, and I'm not sure Condor really wants to get involved in a fight this big. And…who else is there?"

"Aren't Claud and Kidd about the same age now as when you and Sonia fought the FM-ians?" Zack asked. "Plus, they've got the experience of Cancer and Goat on their side, and like Pat said, we can distribute our fighters however we need."

Geo rubbed his neck. "Mmmm…"

"Like Bud said, we'd only be asking," Ace said. "And if they change their minds later it's not as if we'll object. We'll also do everything we can to prepare our recruits and keep them safe on the field."

"I say we do it," Amy said. "It'd be nice to have more people my level to practice with. And I mean, it does sort of seem like we could use all the help we can get."

Bud and Zack nodded. Pat turned to Geo, giving an encouraging smile. With a small sigh, Geo said, "I'm still not sure…but, as long as we're up front about the danger, I guess it might be worth asking."

Sonia stared hard at the floor as she contemplated the issue. She was broken out of it when Luna tugged on her arm, and she looked the other girl in the eye.

"I know you'd rather do this with as few people as possible, so that there's less risk of anyone else getting hurt," Luna said. "But having more allies lessens that risk too, and it alsoincreases your chances of winning—and if you don't win then a lot of people will get hurt either way. I may be on leave, but if I still get a vote, I think it's worth pursuing."

Sonia took a look around the room. Very reluctantly, she turned back to Ace and, after a long pause, said, "Okay. Who do you have in mind?"

Ace grinned, and then jabbed a finger over his shoulder. "Well, first we should get Solo to officially sign off on this."

Leaning to see where he was pointing, Sonia could just barely make out Solo standing behind a staircase, facing the opposite direction. He glanced their way but didn't make a move.

"How long have you been there?" Sonia asked. "You could've just come over and joined us."

Solo looked away, faintly groaning, but then slowly approached. "…So. You're going to get even _more_ people to fight Dealer?"

"It seems that way," Sonia said with a sigh. She thought for a moment. "Hey, Solo…thank you for helping us yesterday. I was too preoccupied to say it, but I want you to know that I really appreciate it."

"…Sure," Solo muttered. "Whatever."

"Anyway, Solo," Ace said. "You were saying you think Dealer has something they shouldn't, right? Can you tell us what it is?"

Solo didn't answer.

"It must be something from Mu, and that's enough to know we probably don't want it in Dealer's hands," Sonia said. "All we really need to know, Solo, is if you're willing to continue helping us fight Dealer."

After a short delay, Solo crossed his arms and said, "It's important I retrieve what they have, so for the time being…I will. Just know that I'm not much of a team player."

Electing not to say the first thing she thought, Sonia instead said, "Thank you."

"Glad to have you on the team, Solo!" Ace said, clasping his shoulder. "As soon as I heard how much trouble you gave Sonia before, I hoped we'd get a chance to win you over to our side. Taking Dealer down just got a lot easier!"

Solo flinched and waved Ace off. "Sh-shut up! Just…get on with your stupid plan already."

Ace hummed as he turned to his Hunter. "Well, the easiest thing to do will be to pop over to Alohaha and talk to Kidd and Claud—I should be able to knock that out tomorrow. As more officers come back on duty I'll ask them to do some digging regarding others we think are still hanging around, but in the meantime…" He turned back to Solo. "How do you feel about going to Whazzap?"

Solo looked at the ceiling. "Whazzap? Wait, I remember that place…"

"Since they're crazy about Mu, I figure you'll fit right in, and that should make it easier to talk to the Shaman and his friend Condor. No need to answer now: it'll take at least a few days for us to organize a trip like that given our current state, but it's something to think about. And of course the rest of you are invited as well!"

"Sorry, but no thanks," Sonia said.

Ace frowned. "Huh? Why not?"

"Luna needs us right now. We've still got a lot of work to do for the election, after all."

"Uh, Sonia," Luna said, "I appreciate it, but maybe—"

Sonia shook her head. "You're my priority, Luna. I can't be there for you if I'm in Whazzap."

"Th-that's…" Luna stammered, blushing as the remainder of her sentence disappeared.

"Hm, I guess that makes sense," Ace said. "Plus we do still need to keep Echo Ridge safe, and with the Satella Police slowly recovering we don't really have alternatives. We'll check in with you when we get back, then."

"Alright," Sonia said. "If that's all for now, we're out of here." She turned, paused, and then turned back to Solo. "You're welcome to come with us, if you'd like. I'm sure we can find somewhere in Echo Ridge to set you up."

"…I'll stay here," Solo replied. "I get the feeling it'll be quieter."

"Okay. See you later, then."

With everything settled, Sonia and her friends made their way out the door, leaving Ace to type a few notes into his Hunter screen before grinning at Solo. "Okay then! If you're going to be our guest, let me show you around a bit, help you find everything you need. This way!"

Ace emphatically gestured towards the stairs. Solo blinked, wondering if his assessment may have been off.

* * *

Jack burst through the door and ran down the hall, Joker already in pursuit. Glaring ahead at the back of King's chair, he shouted, "King! What the hell are you thinking?! Why do they still have Tia?!"

He jumped up the stairs towards King's chair. Suddenly, Heartless stepped into view and swung her hand, smacking Jack across the face and sending him tumbling back down. Joker grabbed him by the collar before he could get up.

The gaze Heartless turned upon the both looked just the slightest bit annoyed, and she adjusted a loose hair as she said, "Mr. King's orders, I remind you, were that he not be disturbed."

"My apologies," Joker said. "I turned him away, but he managed to slip past me."

"King!" Jack shouted. "They captured Tia—what are you gonna do about it? You better be working on a way to rescue my sister, you jackass!"

He fell immediately silent as Heartless took a single step. "I believe that is quite enough out of you, Jack."

Jack glared at her for a moment. Ultimately, he closed his eyes and hung his head, weakly saying, "They…they've got Tia. We have to get her back!"

"Mr. King was quite clear when giving Queen Tia's orders. Even with all the advantages provided to her, your sister failed. We are under no obligation to assist her now."

"Like hell we aren't!" Jack yelled, tears now streaming from his eyes. "We've done everything we could for this stupid plan you've got—the least you could do is try to show us a little respect in return! You talk like we're some kind of family, but you're willing to throw that away the second one of us actually needs something from you, King? Answer me, you—"

King slammed his fist into his desk. The surface fractured under the blow, producing a small flourish of sparks that was totally drowned out by King bellowing, "ENOUGH!"

Jack was stunned into silence. Heartless rolled her eyes, and walked back towards the chair.

"Joker," King said, speaking very quietly. "Escort Jack to his room, and see that he remains there."

"Yes, Mr. King," Joker said. "Come along, Jack."

The boy didn't recover by the time he was pulled from the room. Heartless took a moment to examine the hand she had struck him with, and then gave a sideways glance to King. The man was hunched over his now-damaged desk, one hand planted firmly over his eyes as he continued to sob silently.

"Mr. King," she said, "you truly are pathetic."

A ragged sigh escaped King's lips. Sitting up, he said, "Still no compassion in your hand?"

"Why is it that you think I accepted a name like 'Heartless'?"

King wiped the tears off his face. "Ah, that's right. This is precisely why I value you: always keeping me on-track with your callous indifference. Many thanks, Heartless."

King turned to the damage he had caused, noticing that his glove was now stained red. He peeled it away, spotting a new cut amidst the scar tissue that covered his hand, and tossed the glove aside. Heartless procured a roll of bandages from a compartment on the back of his chair.

"Losing children," he mused. "No matter how many such wounds I receive, they continue to cut deep. Oh, how much have I lost, after all these years? Nearly all I've ever cared for have been smote by simple luck of the draw. When I fell for Ace's bluff, I thought I had felt the worst sting of all, but the pain only continues to grow. And now, my favorite daughter—"

He winced as Heartless pulled the bandage tight around his hand.

"…But, I must remain strong. My poker face must be unreadable. This pain shall be fused with the rest, creating only a stronger vessel for the ambition that has carried me through my despair."

King looked to his desk, seeing an image of Meteor G displayed on the screen.

"Soon…so very, very soon now…I will at last be able to bring this game to an end…"

* * *

Notes:

-Well, that took forever. Sorry about that folks. Turns out Octopath Traveler is a good game that's damn near impossible to set down. But now that I'm more or less done with it I intend to focus on writing as much as possible through August and September, because in October we're getting Mega Man 11 _and_ The World Ends With You Final Remix so it's already a lost cause. Anyway.

-In the time since the last chapter, I've started using Twitter for updates on my writing, so if that's something you're interested in you can find me there as ExoPahrak. (I use "Pahrak" on other sites so I thought I'd just split the difference.)

-On to the chapter itself, that first scene is pretty much only there because I wanted to reverse that one scene from _Tribe_. It's something I've wanted to do for a while, but it seemed impossible because of Luna's massive hair, and as I started on this chapter I realized putting her in the hospital for a bit could maybe serve as an explanation for having her hair down long enough to do the scene. So basically, Luna's mental state is a little worse than in canon simply because I wanted to justify a shippy moment. Writing, huh?

-I decided to see if I could find a reason why Ace loves candy so much, as well as a reason why Tia might want to be a student teacher and a bit more on how she's been traumatized into a near-constant state of emotionlessness. It turned out to be pretty easy.

-That's pretty much all I have to say—this chapter is mostly wrapup and setup and I don't want to blatantly give away things that'll be important later. I need to finalize exactly how this next scenario is going to play out (there's a lot going on), but once I sit down to that, I'll get chapter 19 out as soon as I can.


	19. Chapter 19

"…and I look forward to serving as your Class President for another year!"

The others clapped, and Luna smiled a bit. Looking back down at her Hunter screen, she said, "I don't know, maybe it still needs a few adjustments…"

Sonia reached out and pushed Luna's arm aside. "There's such a thing as over preparing, you know. Take a few minutes to relax—that's going to be way more useful."

Luna sighed as she sat down at a desk. "Probably. I just want to be sure I do well."

"What do you have to worry about?" Geo asked. "There are only two other candidates, and it's obvious they're nowhere near as organized as you are. You've got this!"

"Just because it looks easy doesn't mean I shouldn't give it my all! Zack, have you finished analyzing the data from the early polls?"

Zack tapped his Hunter a few times. "Mike has achieved very little support, and that's been the case more or less since the race began—virtually identical results across all polls. Trisha has been steadily gaining some favor, but the most recent poll still puts you at a significant advantage. Barring some massive unforeseen shift in opinion, neither has a viable chance of victory."

Luna hummed. Before she could say anything, Sonia leaned against her shoulder, saying, "Relaaaaaax…"

On the other side of the classroom, Pat and Bud were putting the finishing touches on a banner; Pat glanced over as Luna started laughing, and then turned back to look at Bud. The other boy was working sluggishly, his eyes unfocused.

"Hey, Bud?" he asked.

Bud snapped to attention. "H-Huh?"

"You looked like you were dozing off there."

"Oh, no, sorry." He turned back to his work, resuming it with a bit more enthusiasm. "I was just, uh…"

Pat resumed working as well. "Amy?"

Bud sighed. "Well, yeah. I'm sure she's doing fine, and Whazzap is a nice place too."

"But you wish you could've gone with her?"

"Kind of. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't dream of missing the election! But, if WAZA's trip had been pushed back just a little, then Amy and I coulda both gone on an important mission together, and, y'know…"

Pat chuckled. "You'll get your chance, Bud. I bet you and her will go down in history as WAZA's best agent duo!"

Bud gave a short laugh at the idea, and then paused. "So, how are you doing with…?"

Looking up, Pat nodded. "It's going alright. Not perfect, maybe, but I'm managing. I'd like to think I've improved a lot in a short time."

"Well of course you'd _like_ to think that," Gemini said. "Whether or not that's the case is another matter entirely."

Pat just smiled. "I gotta say, I really envy how well you and Taurus get along."

"Mrrg, if you ever need help putting that snob in his place, just give us a call," Taurus said.

"Were I in a better mood I'd be in hysterics over your delusions of grandeur," Gemini said. "Earth seems to have the most curious effect on FM-ians…well, those base enough to be susceptible to its thrall, at least."

"Hush," Pat said, reaching for his Hunter. "I'm trying not to keep you locked in sleep mode all the time, but you really need to be more polite if you want it to stay that way."

Gemini grumbled something to himself. Pat moved to put his Hunter away and noticed Geo staring at him, a slightly concerned look on his face. It was an exasperated smile Pat gave him in response, but a genuine one, so Geo nodded and they both returned to their respective tasks.

"They should call for the candidates in about five minutes," Geo said. "Anything you need us to do before then?"

Luna looked over her notes again. "Mmm…I can't think of anything. Why don't you all get a head start and join the rest of the class?"

"Are you sure?" Zack asked.

"Positive. You've already done more than enough—I think you all deserve a break of sorts."

"Well, okay. We'll see you out there!"

Zack and Geo helped Pat and Bud gather up the banner, and then they carefully moved it out of the classroom and shut the door behind them. Luna sighed.

"Doing alright?" Sonia asked.

"I needed a bit of quiet," Luna said. "Grateful as I am for everyone's hard work, if I didn't get a little room to breathe I was going to start feeling smothered."

Sonia giggled. She waited as Luna glanced out the window, her face softening a bit.

"…I'm more nervous than I expected," she mumbled. "I mean, I'm still confident I'll be victorious. But I just have this anxious energy—and I used to feel that way before elections, but not in…well, a few years, at least."

Sonia came behind Luna, standing there and gently rubbing her shoulders. "Can I help?"

Luna closed her eyes and breathed deeply. "Listening is enough…thank you. I'll be okay—it'll take more than this to stop me."

"Hehe. Your determination is always inspiring, Prez. How _do_ you do it?"

"Hmph! It's a natural talent honed through years of discipline!" Pausing, she reached up and grabbed one of Sonia's hands. "And…I've got all the support I could ever dream of."

Sonia leaned forward, giving Luna a kiss on the cheek and then wrapping her arms around her. They remained that way for a moment, before Sonia eventually stepped back, allowing Luna to stand. Luna checked the time.

"Just about. How do I look?"

"Wonderful!"

"You're not just saying that, are you?"

Sonia tapped her guitar, calling up a small holographic screen in front of her; when she touched that screen's surface, it emitted a small flash, and then a photograph of Luna appeared on it.

"Nope," Sonia said as she held out the image. "You really look great!"

"H-Hey, no pictures!" Luna said, blushing as she pointed.

Sonia cocked her head. "Huh? But it's important proof! Besides, today's a special day—why not have something to remember it with?"

"Well, maybe…but, you should at least warn me!"

"It turned out great! Here, take a look!"

Hesitantly, Luna stepped forward and took the image. "…It's…alright. But don't share this with anyone! And no more!"

"Fine, fine," Sonia said, taking the picture back. She waved it lightly, and it evaporated into a cloud of pixels. Giving Luna a grin, she added, "See? All good!"

Luna sighed, but couldn't hide that she was also smiling. "You can be such a troublemaker. Be glad I'm so lenient with you."

Sonia bowed. "Of course, Madame Prez. Thank you for being so gracious."

They laughed together, and then Luna's Hunter chimed as she received her summons.

"I'm off," she said. "Wish me luck!"

Sonia kissed her, saying, "You're unstoppable. I'll be watching from the Wave Road, cheering you on the whole time! Show 'em who's boss!"

Luna nodded, now brimming with a more vibrant energy, and strode out of the classroom. Sonia reached for her guitar again, but that was when Lyra materialized next to her.

"Pardon me, dear," Lyra said, "but there's something I need to bring to your attention."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I didn't want to interrupt, but I've been picking up some curious Noise readings nearby that I think we should take a look at. Hard to say if it's anything dangerous, but I'd feel much better if we checked."

Sonia looked at the clock. "Well, we have a few minutes before the speeches actually start…and that isn't something we should just leave be." She pumped her fist. "Okay, Lyra, let's roll!"

They Wave Changed, and Sonia stayed out of the visible spectrum as she navigated the halls, allowing her to make her way in the direction of the disturbance without being noticed. As they went, Lyra said, "I must admit, it's nice to see you looking so bright again."

Sonia smiled.

"Though I also have to ask…how are you handling the matters still weighing upon you?"

Her expression turning a bit melancholy, she said, "I'm mostly focusing on the positives. Maybe I'm avoiding a few things, and maybe that'll bite me, but for now I've got other priorities. I'll figure out the rest when I have the chance. Besides…" Her smile returned. "Getting to spend time with Luna helps everything."

"Hmhm, alright. Just be careful, dear. Ah, it's just ahead."

Sonia came to a stop and took a look around. She was right next to the school's main entryway, and while she hadn't spent much time in this particular hallway there wasn't anything that looked obviously out of the ordinary. She took a few more steps, and suddenly she became aware of an odd, nagging feeling, almost like she was being watched or that someone was standing right next to her. A few more steps, and the feeling dimmed.

"…Huh. I'm feeling it now, too."

Backing up a few steps, Sonia moved to where the feeling was the strongest, and ended up approaching one of the electronic display boards lining the hall. Squinting at it, a flicker caught her attention: one of the corners of the display was wavering intermittently, and after watching it for a few seconds she saw a brief flash of static around the affected area.

"This must be the source," Lyra said. "Yet, for as much Noise as I'm detecting, I would think it would be having a greater effect on this device."

"Lyra, if we use the Joker Program..." Sonia said, taking a short pause. "Is it possible for us to tune into the Noise you're detecting? Maybe access it in some way?"

"We should be able to. It's optimized for the Meteor Server, but since we can still gather up ambient Noise, I don't see why we wouldn't be able to rig a new connection. Let me see…"

The flickering on the board intensified. The image flashed more and more rapidly until it suddenly froze, wreathed in a thin halo of static, and then all at once returned to normal. A second later, a feeling like a static shock hit Sonia head-on; she stumbled backwards, grunting at the surprise jolt, and then turned back to the board. Directly in front of it was a patch of green static roughly the size of her hand, a distortion that immediately reminded her of what she had seen when fighting Noised Wizards.

"Sorry about that, dear," Lyra said. "It broke open a bit more violently than I was expecting. However, it appears that we've uncovered some sort of access point."

"Does it lead to the display board's Cyber Core?"

"Uncertain…but unlikely, I'd say. The Noise seems far more intense in there, enough to shred this poor thing's systems to bits under normal circumstances."

Sonia tapped her fingers as she considered her options. "What do you think, Lyra?"

Lyra hummed a bit, ultimately saying, "We won't be at risk with the Joker Program, and I'd feel rather unsafe just leaving such an odd thing be without knowing more. I think we should take a look."

Nodding, Sonia reached forward and touched the distortion. The world warped around her, and when it settled again she took in her new surroundings. It was a Wave Road of some kind, that much was clear, but the platforms beneath her was oddly shaped, and glowed with an eerie light that contrasted with how dark the surface was. The space around them was pitch-black, though numerous sporadic bursts of white and green and red rolled through it like silent storm clouds. That same nagging feeling was all around.

"Bizarre…"

She managed to find a path and walked until she came to a wider platform, but still couldn't find anything of interest. Turning back, she looked towards where she thought the access point should be—rather than where she had entered, however, the point was off on the other side of the space, hovering just above the edge of an absurdly narrow platform. She scratched her head.

"It appears," Lyra said, "that this is an EM space made entirely out of Noise. Fascinating—I never would've thought jumbled up waves like Noise could create something even this cohesive."

"So what do we do about this…Noise Wave?" Sonia asked.

"Now that I've analyzed it more closely, I believe I can reseal the entrance once we're outside. I find it doubtful someone without a Noise Control Program could access this place, and you saw what minimal effects it's having on the outside world. I don't think there's anything else to be done, really…though we should probably send our findings to Mr. Boreal just in case."

"Sounds good. Okay, let's just—"

She stopped short as she heard a strange hissing sound. Turning around, she spotted something that hadn't been there a moment ago: a ball of red energy that looked suspiciously like a piece of Crimson. Tentatively, Sonia took a few steps towards it, confirming that it was the source of the hissing, and reached out. Two empty white eyes appeared on the orb. Jumping back, Sonia readied her guitar as the creature revealed a mouth, snapping at the empty space she had just occupied.

"What the heck is _that_ thing?" she asked.

"I'm just reading Noise. Be careful, Sonia: we've no idea what this creature is capable of."

The Noise creature continued to hiss angrily at her. Glancing back at the access point, she said, "Probably shouldn't let it out, then."

Suddenly it lunged. Sonia swung her guitar, smacking it across the platform, and then took aim and started playing. The first few notes hit their mark, but then the creature zipped up and out of the way, gnashing its teeth before lifting higher, radiating more Noise. The energy shot forward all at once, knocking the wind out of Sonia. Seeing its opportunity, the creature shot out and rammed into her helmet, sending her staggering back; she nearly fell, but she managed to stay on her feet, enduring a few more pushes from the creature, and then knocked it away again, this time following-up with a sound pulse that left it stunned. She fired her strings straight into the creature. After playing a few more notes, it shook violently, and then it burst apart into a shower of red sparks that vanished near-instantly. Sonia relaxed her guard slowly.

"Yikes," she muttered. "Remind me to keep a close eye on those if we run into any more."

"I'll add it to the report. We should get going—I don't think I'll be able to send the message while we're in here, and also…"

Nodding, Sonia quickly headed for the access point. "We've got to get to the roof! I don't want to be late for Luna's speech!"

* * *

"Aren't you hot?"

Solo turned. "What?"

"It's just, you're wearing all black, and the sun here is so intense," Amy said. "Aren't you hot at all?"

Turning back, Solo said, "It doesn't bother me."

Amy wiped the sweat from her brow. While she had known she was much too used to the cold and had done her best to think ahead, packing a simple yellow sundress rather than her usual skiwear, she was surprised at just how hot Whazzap felt to her. Even more puzzling, she seemed to be the only one suffering, despite Solo wearing black, Copper wearing a trench coat, and Hyde wearing a black trench coat. Somehow, she thought, it just didn't seem fair.

"Why don't we Wave Change real fast?" Yeti offered. "I can whip up a little snow to keep us cool."

Amy shook her head. "No, that'd be excessive. Ace should be back any minute, I bet, so I'll just tough it out."

Copper held a hand over his eyes to shield them from the sun, surveying the nearby desert. He eventually turned to Hyde, who leaned against a large rock swinging his cane around, and said, "Will you stop that?"

"Oh, does this distract you, Detective?" Hyde said, not even slowing down. "My apologies. Pre-stage jitters must be getting the better of me."

Copper grunted. "That makes sense. I sure wouldn't want to be in your shoes, trying to ask for help from someone I tricked and manipulated not too long ago."

Hyde's cane came to a stop. "Quite. Perhaps I should go wait in the car."

"Afraid to face your mistakes, Hyde?" Phantom asked. "I would think you'd be used to it by now."

"No moreso than you, dear friend. Shouldn't you understand?"

Solo ground his teeth, trying as best he could to tune them out. Luckily for him, it wasn't much longer before Ace reappeared, waving to them eagerly as the Shaman and Condor followed a few steps behind. The PM-ian seemed calm as ever, but the Shaman eyed them all cautiously, his steps slowing considerably when he spotted Hyde. Once he saw, Solo, however, he paused for a moment, his eyes widening slightly before he resumed his approach. Solo wasn't sure what to make of that.

"Okay team!" Ace announced. "I'd like you all to meet the Shaman of Whazzap, and his friend Condor. Shaman, Condor, here we have Detective Bob Copper of the Satella Police…"

Copper bowed, greeting, "Whazzap."

"Amy Gelande, a friend of our mutual acquaintance Harp Note, and her Wizard Yeti…"

Amy smiled and waved. Yeti materialized next to her, saying, "How've you been, Condor?"

"Good to see you again, Yeti," Condor said. "I am well—and it seems you are also?"

"Can't complain."

The Shaman turned to Condor, asking, "You know him?"

Condor nodded once. "Yeti is of Mu. He was one of our finest soldiers."

"Oh! So he is one of the other survivors you mentioned."

Ace said, "And you've already met Mr. Hyde and his Wizard Phantom…"

The Shaman glared at Hyde, saying, "Indeed, I have."

Hyde sighed quietly. Taking a few steps forward, he removed his hat, bowed, and said, "I offer apologies for my previous actions, esteemed Shaman. It was wrong of me to trick you the way I did. You have my word that I will not behave in such a way again."

The Shaman grunted. Floating forward a bit, Condor said, "Come, my friend, let us not hold grudges. Were it not for him, we would not have met each other. I think we should allow him a second chance."

The Shaman didn't answer, so Ace went on, "And finally, Solo."

Solo met the curious gaze of the Shaman, but didn't say a word. After a moment, the Shaman asked, "I remember seeing you here before as well. Condor tells me that you are a descendant of Mu, and were working to see it restored?"

"I am, and I was," Solo said.

"Remarkable…never did I think I would see a Murian with my own eyes." He paused to bow. "It is a great honor to meet you, Solo."

Solo watched him silently. Condor said, "If I may, Solo, I find it curious that you are a part of this group. Could I ask why?"

"I believe Dealer stole something belonging to Mu," Solo said. "I want it back…and my last attempt at fighting them went poorly."

Condor waited a moment, and then asked, "Is Laplace…?"

Solo looked away, grabbing his shoulder.

"I see. I am sorry."

"Well, that's all the introductions out of the way," Ace said. "What do you say, Shaman? We could really use your help, plus you'll be able to lend Solo a hand retrieving a precious artifact from Mu! Want to join the team?"

The Shaman stared at the ground, wringing his hands around his staff. Ultimately, he turned to Ace and said, "I am sorry, young man, but I must refuse."

Ace frowned. "…Oh."

"Please understand: my duty is to the people of Whazzap. I cannot simply abandon them to fight in what could be a drawn-out confrontation. Besides…it's not as though Condor and I have practiced our combat abilities, and I am not as young as any of you. I doubt I would be much help in the first place."

"I'm sure you'll be more useful than you give yourself credit for. Amy and Yeti were a big help in the first fight they jumped into—and we're going to set up a training program to get all our new recruits up to speed, so there's no need to worry about that."

"Ace," Acid said, "I believe you are missing the point."

The Shaman shook his head. "I'm sorry. I cannot leave Whazzap without good reason."

Ace stood there for a moment, and then turned and scratched his head. "Hm, what would Sonia say…?"

"We'll respect your wishes, sir," Copper said. "We won't bother you any further."

"Thank you," the Shaman said. "If you would like, why don't you all come back to the village with me? We'd be happy to have you."

"Thank you. We would be honored."

The group fell into line behind the Shaman, Ace looking a bit dejected as he joined. Copper quietly said, "Get it together. You should've been prepared for the possibility of them saying no."

"I thought it'd be better to stay optimistic. After Kidd and Claud agreed, it seemed like I was on a roll…"

"Just don't bring it up again, alright? If you get pushy all you'll do is offend them."

When they reached the village, the group instantly drew the attention of the people, though it was Solo who all of them ended up fixated on. He glanced around, feeling just a little nervous to be the center of a crowd's attention. No one come closer, however, and soon the Shaman stopped and raised his staff, drawing them away for the moment.

"Whazzap!" he said, receiving a few dozen replies. "I trust you will all treat our guests with hospitality while they are here. And, though I know you all must be curious, it is important that we also not overwhelm them. Let us carry on with our respective duties."

The crowd slowly began to disperse. Solo let out his breath, just now realizing that he had been holding it. However, a young boy ran right up to him, staring up with wide, shining eyes. Solo froze.

"Whazzap!" the boy greeted, hopping in place.

"…W…Whazzap?" Solo said.

"Hey, that's the symbol of Mu, isn't it? Are you actually from Mu, mister?"

"…Not exactly. But I am descended from the Murian people."

"That's so cool! I bet you know even more about Mu than Mr. Condor does, don't you?"

"I wouldn't say that."

"Do you have any neat powers like him? Can I see?"

Before Solo could answer, a man and a woman came up to the group, taking the boy by the shoulder. The man said, "There you are! Sorry, sir—we turned our backs for one second and he was off!"

"…It's fine," Solo said.

"Come on," the woman told the boy, "let's give our guests some space for now."

The boy waved as his parents led him off. Hesitantly, Solo waved back.

"I never knew you were so great with kids," Amy chuckled.

"Shut up," Solo grumbled.

The Shaman turned to face the group. "If any of you need anything, please let me know. I hope you enjoy your time in Whazzap."

"Oh, I have a question," Amy said. "Bud told me he had some really good barbeque when he was here—could you show me where I can find some of that?"

"Of course! This way."

The Shaman began to lead Amy off, but suddenly Solo stepped forward and said, "Wait. Don't move, anyone."

Amy looked at him. "Huh? What is it?"

Solo stared past her, saying nothing. He stepped around her and the Shaman, walking out across the street, and Hyde said, "Is it possible our companion has suffered a small heat stroke after all?"

"He seems to have noticed something," Ace said. "Not sure what, but then again…"

Ace trailed off. Reaching for the Visualizer clipped to his shirt, he slipped the device over his eyes and took another look at where Solo was headed. Floating on the other side of the street, hiding outside the visible spectrum, were a trio of Mal Wizards.

"Shoot, looks like we do have company."

The Wizards were just now becoming aware of the fact that Solo could see them. One of them raised a Noise Card, but a second pulled their arm back down, and then dragged them back a few steps saying, "What do we do, Ten?"

The third Wizard grinned at Solo. "I'll handle this. You two focus on your job."

Becoming visible a second later, Ten summoned a whip made of electricity and flicked it at Solo, stunning him and alerting the surrounding crowd to his presence. As the crowd broke into a panic, the other two Wizards slipped away, and Ten just stood there laughing.

"I'll help Solo," Ace said, grabbing his Hunter as he began running. "The rest of you, there are two Wizards headed that way—make sure they don't hurt anyone!"

"Where?" Amy said, looking around.

Having already Wave Changed, Hyde pointed with his cane and said, "I believe I've spotted them, miss. Detective, I think it'd be best if you stand back, wouldn't you agree?"

Copper grumbled to himself as Hyde took off. Amy Wave Changed and went in pursuit, while the Shaman looked about in confusion. "What…what is happening?"

"It seems our enemy had their eyes on Whazzap as well," Copper said. "Don't worry about a thing, sir: we can handle this."

"I can help as well," Condor said. "Even without my full power, I am certain I can assist in keeping these invaders at bay."

"Hold on! It's likely they're in possession of an item that can corrupt EM beings and make them go berserk—our people are protected against it, but you'd be an easy target for them!"

Condor came closer to Copper, asking, "Then, is there a way I can be protected as well?"

Copper hesitated.

"Please, sir. This land is precious to me, and I want to fight for it! Please give me that choice!"

Meanwhile, Ace reached Solo just as he was recovering, and they both Wave Changed and stared Ten down. Smirking back at them, Ten said, "Oh, now this is a treat! The meddler _and_ the traitor—if I take you both out, King will give me quite the promotion!"

"This is your only warning!" Ace declared. "Surrender now, or we will not hesitate to delete you."

Ten slowly raised his arms. "Well, maybe you got a point…"

Solo dashed at him, but he was still too slow. In a fraction of a second, Ten materialized and dropped a small energy bomb, and the explosion knocked his foes away and gave him the opportunity to charge off at the nearest civilians. By the time they had recovered, he already had a man by the neck.

"Now listen real close," Ten said. "I got a present for a certain bird nesting here, and I could use a hand in delivering it. What do you say, Officer? Want to lend me a hand?"

Ace gritted his teeth. Solo, still crouched on the ground, looked back and forth between Ten and the hostage. Turning to the side, he realized Ace was glancing at him, and after taking a moment to think, he nodded.

"Alright," Ace said, putting away his weapon. "I'm coming."

He slowly walked towards Ten, who laughed at him and squeezed the man's neck tighter. "Just a reminder, don't try anything funny. I wouldn't want to have to make a mess, y'know?"

Ace walked until he was only a few paces away. Ten held out something: a Noise Card with a Sword symbol. Taking one more step, Ace started to reach for it. It was at that point Ten realized Solo was drawing something in the dirt. Suddenly there was a flash, and Solo was right behind Ten, reaching forward to wrench him away from his hostage and kick him into the dirt. The man scurried away quickly, and Ace drew his weapon again. He paused when he saw that Ten had stuck the Noise Card to Solo's chest.

"Heheheh," Ten chuckled as he got up. "Not the brightest move, buddy."

Solo looked down at the card. Then, he delivered an uppercut straight to Ten's jaw, before reaching down to peel the item away. The flames encasing his hand grew more intense when they came into contact with it.

"What you call 'Noise' isn't as new as your pathetic scientists believe," Solo said, gesturing to the bracelet on his flaming hand. "The Rogue Wave, and the Darklight Harvester it grants me, were designed specifically to refine chaotic EM energy into a devastating power source. To me, your Noise is nothing but a whisper."

The purple flames engulfed the Noise Card, burning it to cinders. Ten backed away.

"I'd been meaning to ask you about that," Ace said as he came closer. "Say, do you think—"

He pointed his Acid Blaster at Ten, firing a series of electric bullets to stun him just as he materialized another bomb. Solo reared back and punched Ten one last time. The Wizard shattered into raw data, quickly dissipating into nothing.

"As I was saying, do you think our people could have a look at that Harvester when we get back? If it's capable of refining Noise, it sounds like a technology we could really use right now."

Solo just glared at him.

"…We can talk about it later. First, I guess we should go see how the others are dealing with Ten's cohorts."

As they turned to leave, Solo caught sight of the boy from earlier. He ran to his father the one Ten had been holding, and cried as he clung to him, his mother in the same state when she joined them. Solo stared for a few seconds, and then went to follow Ace.

* * *

Notes:

-Since there were a handful of smaller episodes I wanted to add into this part of the story, I thought it'd help the structure if I paired the majority of the scenarios present in the second act. Hopefully balancing them won't be too tricky. I doubt act two will be quite as long as act one, but this is the best opportunity to give quite a few characters time to grow, and I definitely want to capitalize on that while I can. Plus, like I said before, it really bothered me how many empty spaces were in the canon Transcode registry so I really wanted to fix that.

-I feel like I should be making more of a push to include "Let's rock" and "Let's roll," since I really appreciate that choice in catchphrases, but at the same time I don't want to force it? Kinda hard to toss about lighthearted shouts like that when things get so angsty, but we might have a few bouts of calm still to come, so I'm sure there'll be opportunities.

-This Noise Beast may be small, but we'll probably be seeing some bigger ones soon. You will have to wait a bit longer for that Sonia and Solo team-up, though—I promise it'll be worth the wait! And in the meantime, you get a bit of Solo and Ace: the rival who's 95% Bass and technically like 5% Protoman, and the one who's _100%_ Zero but no one notices since he doesn't wear red. (Mega Man archetypes get a little weird if you think about them too long.)

-Amy was added to the Whazzap team since, not being an Echo Ridge student, she didn't really fit into the election scenario, and Copper's there because this team needs an adult and Ace and Hyde don't really count. Kidd and Claud felt it would be best to continue guarding Alohaha. At first I was more or less just going to leave Amy in her skiwear all the time, but when I was considering bringing her to Alohaha I figured I should try something else and settled on a sundress for an easy solution. She may not've ended up going to the beach, but now that expansion to her wardrobe paid off after all.

-I figure Condor's shared plenty of stories with the people of Whazzap over the past year, and now they know a lot more about Mu than they used to. Probably a bit more of the downside, as well, but I think they'd still continue to have great respect for the culture as a whole. I mean, taking that away would be a pretty big change.

-"Darklight Harvester" is the official name for Rogue's bracelet. As for darklight being related to Noise…I swear I saw that somewhere, but going back in search of it I can't seem to turn it up again. Possible I just read someone's personal interpretation/headcanon and took it for fact. But I mean, the game never did explain how Rogue and Laplace are able to spend so much time in Noise Waves without any consequences, plus I already showed the Rogue Wave as fairly corruptive during the Rouge Ninja incident, so I figured it was a good fit. And it lets me introduce the idea of refining Noise, which is a concept I've long been toying with. But that's very much a background thing for now.

-The plan for the second part of this chapter kept changing: first I wanted to end it with nothing being apparently wrong in Whazzap, then I thought I'd just go on to do a whole encounter where Solo and Ace fought Ten while everyone else fought Eight and Nine, and then I ended up here, somewhere in the middle. So, chapter 20 is going to have a lot of fighting in it. Like, a lot a lot. Also looking to fill in the remaining holes in the Mega, Wolf, and Corvus backstory, so that'll be fun! Stay tuned.


	20. Chapter 20

The Mal Wizards Eight and Nine dashed out of the village and towards the open desert beyond. However, Nine soon screeched to a halt, and grabbed Eight before he could get any farther.

"Ow! What're you doing?"

"Take a look, idiot!"

A silhouette was fading into view not far ahead. Unfurling his cape, Hyde said, "Greetings, gentlemen. Would it be presumptuous of me to assume you are under the employ of Dealer?"

"Ain't it obvious?" Eight said.

Nine glanced back over his shoulder. Amy had caught up as well, and looked ready to attack as soon as she saw an opportunity. Nine turned and backed up against Eight, saying, "Seems it's time, pal."

"Urgh, guess so," Eight grumbled, putting a hand to his arm. "I'm turning off our Noise Blockers."

"You know," Hyde said, "this doesn't have to end in violence. I'd be more than happy to jump to the scene where you surrender to us."

"Dream on!" Eight shouted. "Do it, Nine!"

Nine raised one hand high, revealing two Sword Cards. Before Hyde or Amy could do anything, a dense orb of Noise engulfed the two Wizards, growing steadily larger for a few seconds before collapsing away. Their bodies looked larger and sturdier, with geysers of red Noise shooting out from their shoulders, the tops of their heads, and their backs. Each had some sort of cannon weapon on one hand, while the other was a large claw made of electricity. They stared blankly at their foes, and then slowly advanced, growling and gnashing their teeth.

"They Noised themselves?" Yeti said. "Why would they do that willingly?"

Amy reared back and created a snowball in her hand. "I'm not sure the reason really matters right now!"

She attacked Nine, but he pulverized the snowball with a blow from his claw. Roaring at Amy, a light could be seen inside his mouth, and soon a laser beam shot out of it and hit Amy square in the midsection. She stumbled back and tripped over her feet, and Nine pointed his weapon arm. Amy managed to call up a small shield of ice, but the grenade exploded on impact, flinging her further back despite the barrier. She got back up to see her foe advancing. Leaping high into the air, she angled herself towards Nine and began to spin, generating cold as she did: snow materialized and wrapped around Amy, encasing her in a giant ball, and when Nine coughed up another blast it barely affected the protective coating. The Mal Wizard was flattened by the impact. Amy burst out of the snowball and stomped on Nine again, and then rolled away to avoid a swipe of his claw. However, the tendrils of electricity lengthened suddenly, getting a clean hit on her just the same.

Meanwhile, Hyde moved about the field erratically in an attempt to confuse Eight, and it seemed to be working. Unfortunately, as a result of this, Eight decided to simply open fire with his grenade launcher, slowly blasting away the landscape before him. Hyde appeared before him and swung his cane, but it had little effect. Eight grabbed him with his claw, letting the electricity course through Hyde's entire body at once, and then smashed him into the ground a few times before hurling him away and launching another grenade at him.

"Splendidly done," Phantom grumbled.

"My door is open if you have revisions, partner," Hyde said as he got up.

Yet another grenade was headed his way. Tapping his cane against the ground, Hyde called a shadowy hand up to block the attack and threw his hat at the same time. The maneuver caught Eight off-guard, so Hyde teleported forward, spun in a circle to kick up a whirlwind, and tossed his enemy into the air. Before Eight could recover, Hyde summoned another hand to swat him into the dirt.

"Hyde," Amy shouted, "get clear!"

Jumping up and out the way, Hyde looked down to see an avalanche sweep over the field, taking both Wizards with it and breaking as it finally slammed them into a large rock. He landed beside Amy and said, "Excellent delivery, miss, but be sure not to strain yourself."

"Don't worry about me," Amy said, forming more snowballs in her hands. "More importantly, we should try to steer these guys in a different direction—the village being right behind us is making me nervous."

After she launched her attack, Hyde swung his cape out in front of her, and a second later they both stood at their enemies' left flank. Hyde was quick to smack them with his cane before they realized what was happening, and Amy followed with a powerful kick to Nine's face. However, her target recovered quickly and slashed her with his claw, and Eight followed up with a laser blast that sent her flying. Something cushioned her impact: one of Hyde's shadow hands, she realized. Giving him a nod, she encased herself in another shell of snow, and with a grin, Hyde willed the hand to hurl her back at the Wizards, bowling them over and stunning them for a moment. They both advanced on their opponents and managed to get in another hit. However, before they could retreat, both Wizards lashed out with their claws, trapping them both in their electric grip, and pinned them to the ground.

"Darn it!" Amy grunted as she struggled to break free. "Don't suppose you can get us out of here?"

Hyde's body spasmed from the shock. "Erg…trying, but it's a bit difficult…"

Eight and Nine readied their launchers. Just as they were about to fire, a blast of purple flame rammed into both of them, knocking them aside and freeing their captives. Amy turned to see Solo standing not far away, a still-smoking glyph in front of his palm.

"Thanks for the save," she said.

"Hmph," Solo said. "I was just attacking my enemies."

"Right," Amy said with a sigh.

Ace dashed in next, whacking Nine with his blaster before turning and spawning a small tornado on top of Eight. They both tried to counterattack, but he was too quick for them, and regrouped with the others a moment later.

"Hope you don't mind us joining the fun," Ace said. "Our guy didn't stick around as long as we were expecting."

Solo was already on the move. Nine shot a blast at him, but he stepped aside and dashed, tackling the Wizard and carrying him away from his ally.

"I'll back up Solo…again," Ace said. "Think you two can finish off the other guy?"

"Leave it to us!" Amy said.

As Ace rushed off, Eight turned and raised his weapon. Hyde's hat knocked him out of the attack, and when he looked that way, all he saw was Amy sliding towards him. She flattened him with a kick and then bounded back a short distance. Eight lashed out with his claw, and Hyde summoned one of his own to catch it. One snowball to the face later, Eight found himself a bit disoriented, and that gave Hyde the chance he needed for his claw to flip Eight overhead and into the ground. Amy jumped on him once more, and he gave a weak shout.

"And thus the curtain falls," Hyde said as he came closer. "I do hope you'll be a bit more cooperative once we dig you out of all this Noise."

Suddenly, Eight screeched; energy shot out from him in every direction, expanding in an instant to form a small dome around him and his opponents that greatly reduced the light in the area. Amy was taken aback by the change, but Hyde jabbed his cane into Eight without a second thought. The Wizard pushed him up into the dome, and an intense, burning pain shot through Hyde, leaving a sickening feeling in its wake that made it difficult for him to stand. Seeing this, Amy moved to attack Eight. He dodged, and she had to carefully stop herself from charging on into the barrier, making dodging the next attack more difficult.

"Hyde," Phantom groaned, "it seems touching the barrier briefly overloaded our Noise Filter."

"Ah, that would explain some things," Hyde said as he shakily got to his feet. "I trust you're not permanently damaged, my dear friend?"

"Oh, shut up. I'm sure I'll recover once we're done here, but the Noise is too concentrated right now—if you screw up too much, I'll be too damaged for us to continue fighting."

Hyde glanced at Amy. "Did you get that, miss?"

Narrowly dodging another swipe, Amy said, "Uh, yeah, the gist of it! Think you can lend me a hand still?"

Not too far away, Nine had opted to employ the same tactic, though he seemed to be having less success. Ace and Solo still flinched whenever they came into contact with the barrier, but it took them seconds to recover each time. If anything, it was the restriction to their movement that was causing problems.

"Noise levels within manageable range," Acid reported. "However, our time is starting to run low."

Ace ducked under a grenade. The shields on his back shifted to protect his head and neck from the blast, though it still pushed him forward a bit. "Copy. Solo, any objections if we speed things along?"

Solo didn't answer. Nine extended his claw, managing to pin Solo against the barrier and making his fist light up in response. Forming a glyph in the air, Solo then flicked his fingers up, and three sharp wooden stakes rose from the ground to strike Nine. Ace attacked with his blade while the Wizard was reeling. He loaded a Battle Card and prepared to finish it, but Solo charged in right as he aimed, and the two of them collided and fell in a heap.

"Watch it!" Solo said, rolling back to avoid Nine's claw.

Before he could reply, Ace realized Nine's grenade launcher was in his face. Thinking fast, he darted forward and punched the Wizard's lower body, throwing him off-balance, and the grenade was shot at the ceiling of the dome, raining fire down on everyone inside it. Just as Nine was about to recover, Ace pressed his blaster into his chest and activated a Mad Vulcan card, firing a series of bullets that tore through their target with little resistance. Ace stepped back and let Nine fall to the ground. After a moment, the dome began to recede.

"All's well that ends well," Ace said.

Rather than dispersing, however, the energy all converged on Nine, messily forming a new layer of armor on the Wizard as he got back up. Ace slashed, but Nine barely reacted. He retreated, but it wasn't enough: Nine shot a clump of Noise from his fist, the loose mass of particles clinging to Ace and weighing him down immensely. Solo lashed out with a flurry of punches, and appeared to succeed in pushing Nine back. Before long, however, Nine coughed up a blast right in Solo's face, sending him tumbling backwards.

"Shoot," Ace muttered, trying and failing to get closer. "Acid, how much power to we have left?"

"I estimate one significant attack being enough to drain what is left of your stamina," Acid replied.

"Sounds great. Let me know when it's ready, and I'll tell you when to fire."

Solo stood and glared at Nine. He shot a barrage of fist-shaped projectiles, some of which managed to break off small chips of Nine's Noise armor. His foe still took aim, so Solo stopped his attack, crossed his arms, and braced himself. The grenade shot through the air, but exploded before it reached Solo. An oval-shaped shield of translucent white light had appeared to block it. Solo's eyes widened.

"…Laplace…?"

Nine roared, spitting up a laser beam that similarly failed to hit Solo. As he moved to make a third attempt, Ace shouted, and the Wizard turned in surprise. Two powerful blasts launched from Ace's shoulders, striking Nine dead on and blasting huge chunks of his armor away. Solo immediately grabbed his shoulder armor.

"Come!"

Purple flames spewed out of the adornment. Solo rushed forward as Nine staggered, and Ace hit the ground as his Wave Change dissipated. The flames compressed around Solo's hand, and as he came upon Nine, he lunged and swung that hand out. A large, curved blade with jagged edges formed in it as he did. Nine gave a short yelp. A few seconds later, the two halves of his body slowly slid apart, and then the Wizard faded away. Solo turned to look at the sword.

"…Took you long enough."

The blade floated up and out of his hand, and then transformed into a simplistic EM being with long arms and a nearly featureless face. A low buzzing sound came from the creature.

"Hmph. I suppose that makes sense." After a short pause, Solo mumbled, "I'm glad to have you back, Laplace."

Laplace nodded, and then glanced at Ace. Solo now noticed that the Satella Officer was still trying to crawl free of the Noise that had been thrown at him. He looked up and grinned.

"Oh, is that Laplace? Great, glad they're doing alright. Say, um, would you mind lending me a hand here?"

Laplace buzzed something. Reluctantly, Solo walked over to Ace.

As that was happening, Amy and Hyde were continuing their battle with Eight, and had very nearly managed to wear him down. Amy had been pushed into the barrier once or twice, but Yeti was doing his best to pretend it was nothing. They were feeling a bit sluggish, but regardless, Eight was moving far more slowly, so when he went to make a claw swipe it was easy for Amy to move in and grab his arms.

"Got you!" she declared.

Releasing as much cold as she could, she began to slowly freeze the Wizard, and he was too exhausted to do much in return. It wasn't long before Eight was entirely encased in ice. Hyde raised his cane and electrified it, and then he stepped around Amy and thrust the weapon straight through their foe. Slowly, the dome began to recede.

"Whew," Amy muttered, sitting down on the ground. "That was a little rough. You okay, Yeti?"

"No need to worry about me," Yeti said. "You just rest for now—you've earned it."

Eight twitched. Scrambling to her feet, Amy tried to get battle-ready as the Noise from the dome coalesced around him.

"Rats, an encore," Hyde said. "I was thinking an illusion may be excessive, but this can't go on much longer. Are you up to the task, Phantom?"

"Don't ask stupid questions," Phantom replied. "Get the preparations in order, fool."

Hyde and Amy stood ready as Eight roared at them. The corrupted Wizard pulled back his claw, but then paused, looking curiously up at the sky. Against her better judgment, Amy turned slightly. All she saw was a rush of green as a missile shot just above them and hit Eight dead-on. The weapon detonated in a small but focused implosion, eradicating the Wizard altogether.

"…Nevermind, Phantom," Hyde said. "It seems our good friend Eight had to cut his performance short."

With the threat dealt with, Amy was able to turn fully and get a good look at what was flying through the air at them. It appeared to be a crimson jet with a bird-like face, its wings carved with notches that resembled feathers and angled inward slightly, with white lines that ran down its body to a tall fin at the rear just above an opening that housed a tongue of flame. Amy blinked a few times as she tried to process the image.

"Are you unharmed?" came the voice of the Shaman. "I apologize for surprising you, but you seemed injured and I felt I had already wasted too much time."

"Oh, so this is what your Wave Change looks like," Amy said. "Thanks for the save! Or, um, thank you very much, Shaman. We're in your debt."

It was at that point that Ace made his way over to join the group, with Solo and Laplace trailing behind. Coming right up to the Shaman, Ace said, "I see you joined us after all!"

"We could not merely sit by and let outsiders defend our land," Condor said. "Your friend the detective provided us with one of your Hunters so that we could help—he said it would provide me with a program to defend against that strange energy these villains use."

"Good call. Without that, they probably would've made you berserk as well, and that would've only added to our problems." He paused to stretch. "Well, we should probably go over the logistics…but if it's all the same to you, mind if we go sit down somewhere? I'm kinda beat."

* * *

"… _lighting up the sky for all to see, because I know, no matter what, you're all here with me."_

Sonia lowered her guitar and looked up at the sky. "Hm, maybe, but I'm still missing a bit…"

She got to her feet and went to the other side of the Wave Road. Over on the roof of the school, it looked like one of the candidates was just finishing their speech, meaning it was almost time for Luna to give hers. Sonia could see her standing just behind the stage that had been set up, checking the notes on her Hunter one more time.

"Don't worry," she said quietly. "You've got this."

Someone replied, "You think so?"

Whirling in a small panic, Sonia raised her guitar and stumbled back a few steps. Floating just down the Road was none other than Virgo.

"What crack did you crawl out of?" Lyra said. "I'm more than happy to humiliate you again, but now's not the best time."

"Kyahaha!" Virgo laughed. "What's that, you're not in the mood to have some fun? You'd better change your tune real fast! The fun's about to start whether you like it or not!"

A chill crept up Sonia's spine. She glanced back over her shoulder: the other candidate had finished their speech, and the class was applauding as Shepar made his way over to the microphone. "Thank you, Trisha, for that wonderful speech! It sounds like all of our candidates are very well-prepared for this race."

Sonia quickly turned back to Virgo. "Look, Virgo...I'd rather we settle this peacefully, but I'm not about to let you cause any trouble here."

"Bleh, settle things peacefully? How boring can you get?"

Shepar continued, "With that, we only have one more candidate for you all to hear from!"

"Fine!" Sonia said. "If you want to fight we can, but let's at least take it somewhere else! There's no reason for anyone here to get hurt!"

Virgo cocked her head. "Huh? But if you go somewhere else, they'll all get hurt a lot more."

As Sonia tried to figure out what she meant, she realized that Shepar's pause was dragging on exceptionally long. More than that, a nervous murmur could be heard coming from the class. Sonia turned to take another look. A massive, flickering distortion had appeared in the air above the roof, surrounded by bursts of green static that she was certain was Noise.

"Oh no," she said.

Virgo waved. "There you are, Corvus! I was beginning to wonder how long you'd keep me waiting!"

The distortion burst open suddenly, and several red orbs flew out of it. The class screamed, but Shepar said, "E-Everyone, remain calm! Make your way to the elevator, or the stairs, and we can—"

One by one, faces appeared on the balls of Noise. The cloud swooped down on the students, and their panic was instantly renewed. Sonia played as fast as she could, sending out note after note to blast the creatures, but that plan was ruined when Virgo dealt a stunningly painful blow to her back.

Sinking to one knee, Sonia said, "Why are you doing this?! Why did it have to be here?!"

"It's just orders," Virgo said, raising her staff again. "Now hold still!"

Sonia spun and swung her guitar, batting Virgo away and giving her a chance to get over to the roof. By the time she had gotten there, Geo, Bud, Pat, and Rey had already Wave Changed and were doing what they could to protect the students as they fled.

"Virgo's here," she said as she continued blasting, "and it sounds like we're about to see Jack and Corvus too."

"Are we gonna have to fight Jack?" Bud asked.

"I'll do what I can to talk him out of it, but…"

"We know you'll do your best, Sonia," Geo said. "If things go wrong, I'll back you up!"

Sonia thanked him, and then used a sound pulse to clear a path over to the stage. Luna sat crouched behind it, hand on her Hunter; she started when she saw Sonia, and then looked down at the device.

"I—"

"No," Sonia interrupted, "you need to get out of here!"

"But, I think I can—" A Noise creature landed right next to Luna, and she practically flung herself in the opposite direction. Sonia kicked it away and destroyed it with a note.

"Luna!" she said, gently but urgently taking her by the shoulders. "It isn't time. We can handle this—you just focus on getting to safety, okay?"

Hesitantly, Luna nodded. Before she could take a step, however, the distortion opened even more, and a new form flew out of it. It was a boy in Wave Change, wearing a black jumpsuit covered in zig-zagging orange lines, accented by grayish-black armor on his feet, shoulders, and clawed hands. A small blue crystal could be seen on his chest, and his head was covered in a helmet with four sharp points that held a raging purple flame between them. Four large feathery wings carried him through the air, and when he reached roughly the center of the roof, he flapped them and ascended quickly.

"Is that…Jack?" Luna asked.

Up above, Jack held his arms wide, purple flames appearing around his claws. He shouted, "Harp Note! I know you're here—come out and fight me!"

"Finally some good old-fashioned chaos!" Corvus said. "Let 'em have it, Jack!"

Jack swung one hand forward. A ball of fire shot out from it, striking the roof as the teachers were guiding the last of the kids into the building. Shepar took a look back, but suddenly a Noise creature swooped at him, knocking him back into the wall. He managed to stay on his feet and watched the odd entity carefully.

"What's going on?" he asked, mostly to himself. "It's one crazy thing after another lately!"

The Noise creature roared, but it was blasted apart before it could do anything more. Shepar turned to see Geo lowering his buster and shouting, "Get inside! Keep the students safe!"

With a nod, Shepar left the roof. Jack took notice of Geo and moved towards him, saying, "Hey, you! Where is she? I know she's hanging around here somewhere!"

"I'm right here, Jack!" Sonia said, stepping out and readying her guitar.

Jack whirled to face her, but as soon as he did he froze. He stared, wide-eyed, right past Sonia, spotting Luna hiding behind the stage. "…You're…alive…?"

Luna looked up at him, but she couldn't think of anything to say.

"But how? I saw Joker—"

"Snap out of it, Jack!" Corvus said. "Who cares about her? You've got more important stuff to see to!"

With a quick shake of his head, Jack scowled down at Sonia. "R-Right! Harp Note! I hope you're ready to die!"

"We don't need to fight, Jack!" Sonia said.

"Shut up! It's your fault they captured my sister!"

"Listen to me! If you stand down, we can take you to see your sister. There's no need for any of this!"

"Shut up! Just shut up and die!"

Jack hurled a fireball at Sonia. Not feeling it was a good idea to dodge with Luna so close, Sonia crossed her arms and took the attack head-on—she winced at the pain, but stayed focused, and said, "Lyra, can you connect us?"

"With this much Noise, easily," Lyra replied.

Sonia transformed as she brought her arms apart, her armor taking the shape of Ophiuca Noise but most of it turning red, save for the blue breastplate and scarf and the blue highlights on her boots and sleeves, and her guitar sported a crab-shaped ornament at the head while its body was shaped something like a crab's claw. She played one note to strike Jack in the face with a blast of water, and then leapt onto the Wave Road and tried to get as far away from the roof as she could. It wasn't very long before Jack recovered and chased after her, and at that point, Luna slowly crept out and made her way towards the elevator. However, she paused.

"Luna," Ophiuca said, "the rest of your class likely needs help as well. It's part of your responsibility to keep them all organized and safe, is it not?"

"Well, yes…"

"Then we'd best get back to them. Everyone up here will be fine."

Hesitantly, Luna stepped onto the elevator. As she did, Geo shot down another Noise beast and looked around, seeing Sonia leading Jack away. He got about two steps before a large wall of water sprang up in front of him.

"I don't think so!" Virgo said from the other side of it. "Corvus and his pet have a _very_ important mission to fulfill, and I can't have you mucking it up!"

Clenching his teeth, Geo used the Mega Attack to teleport to the other side of the barrier and swing at Virgo, just barely missing her. He sprayed bullets as he headed in Sonia's direction, but a loud sound from above caught his attention, and he looked up to see even more Noise beasts pouring out of the distortion.

"Kyahaha, nice try! But if you go help out your friend, who'll stop these lovelies?"

The beasts dove at the school roof, blasting loose chunks of concrete at every impact. Realizing he couldn't leave them unattended, Geo readied his Battle Cards and went at them.

Not too far away, Sonia was dodging Jack's fireballs, trying to retaliate with water blasts but missing every time. Jack twisted as she soared, darting about erratically; it was impossible to predict when he would attack, but luckily it took him a moment to launch his flames and they didn't move too fast, allowing Sonia to maintain the stalemate if nothing else.

"Stand still already!" Jack shouted.

"Jack, calm down! This isn't the only way to solve things! Let's just talk!"

"Don't give me that shit! You beat my sister down and then I'm supposed to believe you just want to talk? No way!"

Sonia twitched a bit, and one of the fireballs grazed her. Seeing this, Jack dove in, and when Sonia fired a blast he moved just past it and extended his wings. One of them sliced a gash in Sonia's armor as he passed by. He ducked under the Wave Road then, and Sonia clutched her wound as she tried to steady herself.

"…Fair enough," Sonia said. "I wasn't really trying to help your sister—I was just focused on stopping her. I should've tried harder to find out why she was doing what she was doing, to talk her out of it. I'm sorry."

She ducked under a fireball as Jack flew back up over the side of the Road.

"But I'm asking you now, Jack! Why are the two of you working for King? Do you really think this is the only option?"

Jack spread his wings wide, and numerous purple flames spawned in a circle around him. "Who cares? Killing you is exactly what I want to do, orders or not!"

He swung both hands forward, and the flames all shot out, angling to home in directly on Sonia's position. She dug in with her feet and brought her hand down on her guitar: a tall tidal wave sprang up in front of her, intercepting the projectiles, and then she played a few more notes that she set on delay. She jumped back just as Jack flew down at her, and released the notes so they would all charge him at once. He whirled around expertly to avoid them all, but when he came out of the maneuver he was met with Sonia's flail, and the attack sent him careening backwards.

"So King sent you here?" Sonia asked. "Why would he want to attack the school?"

"It's not about the school, idiot," Jack said as he picked himself up. "It's about you! He said if I kill you, he'll go break my sister out of WAZA! Anything else is just collateral damage!"

Sonia quickly set her guitar for more power as Jack's claws lit up. Producing several large, slow-moving bubbles in front of her, she said, "You really feel that way? You don't have a single problem if any of your classmates get hurt?"

"Why would I?" Jack yelled as he began hurling fireballs. "This whole thing was just an act! It's not like I actually care about any of these jerks!"

The bubbles popped easily, but from each one emerged either a crab or a snake that rushed down the Road directly at Jack. Surprised for a moment, he switched his focus to dispatching them, and Sonia took the opportunity to aim the head of her guitar at him. A highly-focused jet of murky water shot out and struck Jack square in the chest, the force enough to send him sliding back several feet.

"I'm not so sure about that," Sonia said. "You had plenty of opportunity to attack the students when you first appeared, but you didn't. And you looked pretty surprised to see Luna again. Would you be more willing to talk to them?"

An aura of flame enveloped Jack, drying him instantly. "Shut up! Once I've killed you, I'll burn the whole school to the ground if that's what it to takes to prove I don't care about any of you! And when Sis is free, then…"

His final words were lost in a scream as he charged forward. Sonia fired shots as he charged and then prepared for another attack from his wings, but she soon discovered she made the wrong call. Jack tackled her, carrying her off the Wave Road and careening straight towards the ground, only letting go so he could veer away at the last second. The force was more than Sonia had been prepared to deal with, and the pain made her mind go blank for a few seconds. She looked up to see Jack readying another fireball.

"Just die!"

Her body ached, and she knew it wouldn't move fast enough. All she could do was brace herself. As she did, however, something else leapt at Jack from his blind spot, colliding with him and sending him crashing to the ground a short distance away. With effort, Sonia was able to push herself up and take a good look at the newcomer.

"Get up, girl," Wolfe said. "You know how long it's going to take me to landscape that crater you made?"

Wolf Woods had lost the spikes on his armor, and he no longer had extra bits of armor attached to his cheeks. His hands also looked like normal hands, though his large armguards looked quite familiar, and he already had long claws extended from the fingers on one hand. As she got up, Sonia said, "S-Sorry about that, Mr. Wolfe. Won't happen again, eheh."

Jack was getting up now too. He immediately glared at Wolfe and Sonia, but before he could move, Corvus said, "Hang on a sec, kid!"

"What?! Why?"

"This here's an old friend of mine. Charge in if you want, but I wouldn't recommend it. You might just get sliced to ribbons!"

Jack gritted his teeth.

"So, how you been, Wolf? I see this planet's just full of familiar faces!"

"It won't be once I rip off yours," Wolf growled.

"Hey, is that any way to treat your old partner?"

"Look who's talking! You're the one who tried to stab me in the back, you overcooked fowl!"

"Hey, hey, get the facts straight! I tried to stab you from the front. At least I was polite enough to let you see it coming!"

Wolf roared at him. At that moment, Jack decided he had been waiting too long, and he threw two fireballs forward while he took to the air once again. Wolfe slashed his claw through one of them, and the fire bent around the blades and stuck to them. Sonia blocked the other and then took aim.

"I tried poisoning him earlier, but I don't think it's affecting him," Sonia said, firing quick water blasts in succession. "He's definitely taken damage, though. It shouldn't take much more."

"Then let's slice him in two!" Wolf said.

Wolfe extended claws from his other hand and swung upward, sending out a shockwave that scarred the school building when Jack dodged it. Sonia managed to hit him with a few blasts when he moved, but he retaliated immediately with a rain of fireballs, and she quickly summoned a wall of water to extinguish them. Jack used the opportunity to charge, but Wolfe then raised the claw that was still on fire: it extended tremendously when he swung it, allowing him to swat Jack out of the air and straight into the ground, and Sonia followed this up with another focused water beam. Wolfe charged as Jack was getting up. The boy managed to slash him with his wings as he leapt up, but Wolfe jumped and caught him before he got far, driving him back into the ground and doing his best to pin him there.

"Give it up, kid," Wolfe said. "I don't want to hurt you."

"Yeah, just give us Corvus!" Wolf snarled. "I'm not gonna pass up my chance for revenge!"

"Yikes, dial it back, buddy!" Corvus said. "What makes you think I'm going to be the one getting revenge-killed today?"

Jack shoved a fireball straight into Wolfe's face, making him stumble back. He then leapt forward, lighting his claws as he did, and started to swing furiously, gradually pushing his enemy back.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up!" he shouted. "Drop dead! I'm not giving up until you're all dead!"

He was so focused that Sonia was easily able to entangle him in strings. Using a few notes to stun him, she said, "That's not happening, Jack! You have to be able to see how this is going to end by now!"

Jack screamed. Spreading his wings, he was able to snap the strings apart, and he flew straight at Sonia in a purple blaze. "It's not over until I've got my sister back!"

Sonia brought her guitar forward, using it to block Jack's initial claw strike. The force still pushed her back, so she leaned with it and used the momentum to cartwheel back, avoiding his follow-up. He kept coming, however, and Sonia expected that. She swung her guitar around and smacked Jack right in the face with it. He spun around in the air, flapping his wings to get stable. Just as he did, Wolf Woods' claws extended past either side of him, and before he could react they snapped shut.

"Let me go!" he yelled. He struggled fiercely, but Wolfe's grip was too tight.

Sonia aimed the head of her guitar. "I'm sorry, Jack. I know you just want to help your sister…but I've got people I love too."

Another focused water blast rammed into Jack. His body went limp, and Wolfe retracted his claws and let him fall to the ground. Jack twitched a few times, trying to do his best to get up, but he could only move an inch before he passed out.

"Get over there, Wolfe!" Wolf said. "Now!"

In a burst of light, Corvus separated from Jack, and he immediately bolted back towards the school roof. "Virgo!" he shouted. "Pack it up! We've gotta jet: Wolf's here!"

Wolfe rushed forward and leapt onto the side of the school, extending his claws just enough to let him dig into the wall and propel himself further up it. About half-way up he pushed off of it and extended his claws to try to pluck Corvus from the air. The FM-ian managed to weave between the blades, continued upward, and turned back to smirk. Sonia launched strings at him, but he incinerated them before they caught up. He darted up and over the rooftop. Wolfe looked up after him, and then turned back to Sonia.

"Dammit!" Wolf said. "How long has that guy been on Earth?"

Sonia's guitar rang before she could answer. Putting a hand to the side of her helmet, she said, "Hello?"

"It's me," came Geo's voice. "Corvus came back this way, but he and Virgo disappeared into that weird opening and shut it behind them. There are a couple of Noise balls left, but other than that…I think it's over?"

Sonia glanced at Wolfe. He shrugged, deactivating his Wave Change.

"Do you need any help down there?" Geo asked.

"No," Sonia said. "I'll contact the Satella Police in just a second—the others should get back to class when they're done, but could I ask you to stay put for a minute? I think we should be able to investigate that distortion they used."

"Sure thing."

Sonia hung up. Wolf didn't seem to have anything to say for the time being, so she turned back to Jack and sighed heavily.

"Well," Lyra said, "I think first we need to decide what to do with our friend here."

Crouching next to him, Sonia called up a display and began dialing WAZA. "…It might not be how he wanted it…but he'll get to see his sister."

* * *

Notes:

-"I'm going to write as much as I can in September" my ass. I'm a damn liar. I'm just going to stop setting goals, I never meet them. I'm sorry.

-When I decided to add additional suites, even after deciding the Sword Card would be responsible for the standard Noised Wizards I still kind of wanted to have a boss affiliated with it. Mixing the Noised Wizards and Mal Wizards seemed like an easy, unobtrusive way to do that—originally it was going to be one specific Wizard who would call themselves "Mal Sword" after Noising, but plans changed a bit when I started bringing in Dealer's numbered grunts. These Wizards' abilities are meant to be a mix of what regular Noise and Mal Wizards can do: the grenade launcher arm as a mix of the MW grenades and the NW cannon arm, the electric claw as a mix of the MW electric whip and the NW sword arm, the laser breath as a variation on the NW energy ball spit attack, and the Noise dome as a variation on the MW's Hack Panel. The Noise Armor was just something that ended up happening, though looking back it has some similarities to how Red Joker's armor is supposed to work, so perhaps King programmed that ability into the cards after studying the Joker Program?

-Since Dealer's working with Noise, I realized they needed their own equivalent of the Noise Filter; changing it to Blocker is just to differentiate the origin, since King made this one on his own.

-It seemed fair to give Yeti Blizzard the snowball armor of the Snowlem (?) viruses from that scenario in SF2.

-Originally I wanted to have Laplace regenerate during the attack on WAZA scenario, but I couldn't find a good place to fit the scene in and it ended up getting delayed. PM-ians normally regenerate very quickly, but since Joker's weapon is designed to break and scatter EM waves, it took Laplace a lot longer to recreate their body after being destroyed by it.

-Finding a way to streamline Terra Condor (Transcode 014) was…difficult. All I really did was reduce his wingspan a bit by folding them in, changing the lines on his body to white, and changing the back portion of his body a bit. I've also had a bit of trouble giving him new abilities, but I think I've got some ideas I can work with.

-I worry that the fight at the school got a bit messy. First it was just going to be everyone fighting Jack, then I remembered the Noise beasts, then I felt like Virgo would probably want to tag along, and at that point I had to find a good way to split everyone up, and then I still needed to bring Wolfe and Wolf in…I did my best, but I apologize if it still didn't turn out great. This chapter and the wait for it were both already so long…

-I feel like Sonia would still have Ophiuca Noise set as her default, but obviously she's going to want an Aqua Element form for this fight. Multi-Noises can mix together the abilities of the component Noises, but Sonia can control how much so, which is why she can choose to make the water she attacks with murky to cause poison but doesn't always have it set to that. Combining these two skillsets was a little hard. I briefly considered combining their summoned animals to create…crabsnakes, or…snakecrabs? But that sounded dumb.

-I know Jack attacked on his own volition in the game, but since I showed Tia being held at WAZA HQ, it created the question of "Why would he attack the school and not WAZA?" So, King had to give him incentive.

-Not sure about the change to Wolf Woods' claws, but he needed to be made less bulky somehow. For new abilities, he can now extend his claws much further than before, and he can move a lot faster. I'm thinking he'll also have better control over his frenzy state when we get to that. Also, he can "catch" fire attacks and light his claws with them, though he needs to keep them extended to stay lit. This…was a last minute addition, I'll admit, but I felt like I hadn't really added enough and that it would make a certain amount of sense for him to have an ability to cover his weakness. Eh, if it's too much I can just have him stop using it. We'll see what happens.

-Originally, I was actually going to have Wolfe kill Corvus here, with his later return being facilitated by back-up data King had made. However, while Wolf definitely wants Corvus dead, I realized that would be wildly out of character for Wolfe, so it was altered. Sonia's definitely happier with this change, let me tell you.

-And that's chapter 20. Who knows when 21 will be. I've put a dent in it, at least I can say that. Thank you for your patience.


	21. Chapter 21

Wolfe stared at the newly reopened distortion, Wolf pacing behind him. It flashed suddenly, and a moment later Sonia and Geo reappeared on the roof, neither looking very satisfied.

"Empty," Sonia said as she closed up the Noise Wave entrance. "Not even any Noise beasts—they must have used another exit before we got in."

"Can't you find it with your program?" Wolfe asked.

"We tried," Geo said, "but the Noise is way too intense in there. We'll never be able to find the access point from the inside."

"What a shame," Lyra said. "At the very least, I've taken further readings for our friends at WAZA to comb over. Perhaps they'll be able to improve our tools before such a thing occurs again."

Wolf came forward then. After a few awkward seconds of silence, Sonia said, "I, um…I'll go check in with the Satella Officers. They're probably ready to go by now."

She made her way to the Wave Road. Geo deactivated his Wave Change, and Mega materialized next to him, arms crossed and face pointing away.

"You son of a bitch," Wolf said. "If you knew Corvus was on Earth, you should've told me."

"Oh, was that Corvus?" Mega said. "I thought he looked familiar."

Wolf snapped his teeth. Mega brandished his claws and snarled back.

"Hey, take it easy!" Geo said.

"I don't know why you're so keen on keeping secrets these days, Mega, but this one crosses a line!" Wolf said. "After what that bastard did, you know I want him dead!"

"Yeah, of course," Mega said. "I kind of agree, but I always thought it was a bit out of character for you. You always told me murder wasn't your thing."

"Killing a killer ain't a crime! Especially when he tried to kill me first!"

"I think you know our resident heroine would disagree with you on that!"

"What, you're taking her no kill rule all of the sudden?"

"I haven't decided yet. But I knew that if you found out Corvus was here, you'd get swept up trying to kill him, and that'd put you and Sonia at odds. The last thing we need right now is infighting!"

Wolf growled quietly. "So what was your brilliant plan then, Mega? Just hope I didn't find out?"

"I was going to keep fighting Dealer and hope it settled itself. If Corvus happened to die, then it wouldn't matter and I could tell you then. If we caught him, then after things settled down we'd have a chance to debate the issue."

"Sounds spineless to me."

"Wolf," Wolfe said.

The FM-ian whirled. "What?!"

Wolfe shifted nervously, saying, "…I…don't want to kill anyone. I understand why you want revenge on Corvus, but…I can't help you take it."

Wolf glared at him. Before he could say anything, however, the sound of footsteps could be heard, and everyone turned to see Shepar stepping out from the stairwell.

"Oh," Geo said, "M-Mr. Shepar! Sorry, I was just on my way back to class."

"It's my fault, Mitch," Wolfe offered. "I asked him to help me get started cleaning up. Thanks, kid, you've done plenty."

Shepar looked from one to the other. Eventually, he quietly asked, "You two know what's behind all these strange things that've been happening, don't you?"

Geo rubbed his neck.

"Please, tell me what's going on. My students keep getting put in danger: if I know why, maybe I'll have a better chance of protecting them from it. I need to know if there's anything I can do."

After a tense pause, Wolf scoffed and said, "Tell him."

Mega eyed him. "Huh?"

"He was the one Libra attacked, right? He'll probably be of use to ya. Tell him."

"You know Libra?" Shepar asked. "Does he have something to do with this?"

"Er, no, he doesn't," Geo said. Exchanging a look with Mega, he took a deep breath, and then turned back to Shepar.

Meanwhile, back inside the school, the students had been gathered in the gymnasium so the faculty could make sure they were all accounted for. Luna finished a conversation and then stepped off to the side, drawing her Hunter to find a new mail from Sonia.

"Are you okay?" it read

She smiled. The reply she sent said, "Perfectly fine. What about you?"

The response came almost instantly. "Nothing to worry about."

Hesitantly, Luna typed out, "What about Jack?"

"He's okay. But, the Satella Police are taking him into custody. They're getting ready to leave as soon as they're done talking with the faculty."

"Are you going with them?"

"I was thinking about it. But, I could just as easily go report in later if you want me to stay nearby."

Luna considered it a moment. "No, you should go now. We're all fine."

"You sure?"

"Of course. Why else would I have said it?"

"Okay, I'm going. I'll call you once everything's settled. Love you!"

"Love you too."

After hitting 'send', she returned the device to her pocket and sighed, taking a seat on the bleachers. She glanced over the crowd. Many of the students looked nervous, but they seemed to have calmed considerably now that they knew the Satella Police had arrived. Zack pushed his way out of the mess of people and jogged over to where Luna sat.

"They're still looking for Geo," he said. "I hope he's got a good excuse lined up."

Luna nodded.

"Well, in all likelihood the election will be rescheduled for some time next week. Should we use the opportunity to get in a little extra campaigning?"

"Maybe…I don't know."

Zack scratched his head. "Um, Prez…are you okay? You seem a bit…er, that is to say…"

Luna gently rubbed her hands together. "…It just feels like I ran away."

"Luna," Ophiuca chimed in, "that's not at all what happened."

"I can't help it. I know we could've joined in, but I decided to do nothing. It doesn't seem right."

"You know that you aren't ready for that yet. The way you reacted, it's clear you still need more time to recover. That's the most helpful thing you can do right now."

Luna hung her head. Zack said, "Prez, there's no reason to feel guilty or anything. Everything turned out fine. And, didn't the others all agree that they wanted to give you the time you need? There's absolutely no pressure."

"It just…" Luna started, pausing to look up at the ceiling. Quietly, she went on, "It just…makes me feel…weak. Vulnerable, I guess. And I hate feeling like that. I'd rather fight back, even if I know that's not the smartest thing to do right now."

Zack stepped forward emphatically. "Prez, _no one_ here thinks you're weak! The rate at which you're already recovering is awe-inspiring! And as for vulnerable, well…as long as you have us, that's nothing to worry about, right? Brothers protect each other! So let us take this chance to protect you, as thanks for all you've done for us!"

Luna looked at Zack for a moment. Slowly, she grinned. "Heh…thanks, Zack. I really appreciate it."

She leaned back and breathed deeply. Zack sat down next to her, and together they silently watched the crowd.

* * *

Ace called a display from his Hunter. Glancing around the Shaman's hut, he said, "So, let's be sure we get all the relevant information covered. Three Wizards working for Dealer attacked and were deleted."

Everyone sat in a circle, except for Solo, who leaned back against the wall with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. They took a moment to exchange glances before someone finally went first.

"There was no sign of the Noise Cards they used," Hyde said. "It would seem they were destroyed along with the poor follows."

"And we _did_ try to avoid deleting them," Ace added, typing away. "Feel like that's gonna come up…also, no Crimson detected?"

Copper shook his head. "If I had to guess, they crystallized all the Noise they had generated when they made that armor you mentioned, and it went with them too. We were able to scrape up that bit he threw at you—we'll take that back and have the doctors analyze it, see if maybe we can learn something."

Ace nodded. Turning to the Shaman and Condor, he said, "And you're now properly registered as Transcode 014! Contact info for WAZA is in the Hunter that Detective Copper gave you, so call us if there's anything urgent…or, if you change your mind about taking the fight to them."

Copper grunted. The Shaman said, "Thank you, but it now seems more important than ever that I stay here. Dealer could very well return. I only hope that we will be enough to stop them if they do…"

"We will because we must," Condor said. "No matter what, we will find a way to keep Whazzap safe."

The Shaman nodded, but he still looked distraught. Ace thought for a moment before saying, "Well, that's a good point. We'll help you out."

Looking up, the Shaman asked, "What?"

"WAZA can help you protect Whazzap from Dealer. Stopping them is our main goal right now, and preventing or managing an attack would certainly help with that."

The Shaman's eyes widened. "Truly? You would offer us your aid?"

"Of course. Although, the thing is…" Ace stopped for a moment, seeming to wonder if he should continue. "Well, I'm sorry for this, but we wouldn't be able to get a full security detail out immediately."

Hyde raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. It was Amy who asked, "Wait, why's that? Aren't all the officers pretty much recovered?"

"That isn't the problem," Solo said. "He's not sure who he can trust."

"Huh? What's that mean?"

Ace put a hand over his mouth as he stared at the screen in front of him. "When Sonia, Geo, and Acid left WAZA to track down Luna's data, Dealer attacked immediately. It was too well-timed to be a coincidence. And it was the same today: those Wizards were here just in time to welcome us. It's possible they just monitored the Wave Roads or something…but…"

Amy frowned. "Oh."

"We can't totally rule out the possibility that there's a Dealer spy somewhere in WAZA," Copper said.

"Right," Ace said. "So, I'll need time to assemble a force of people I trust to protect this place."

The Shaman looked down. "I see…"

"Still, we should make some kind of arrangement for now. If one of us stays here while I get things sorted, that should keep things covered well enough, don't you think?"

"But who would that be?" Hyde asked. "You need to be back at WAZA to assemble this team. Our dear detective here cannot Wave Change, so he alone would make little difference."

Copper scowled at him. "And no one here trusts you."

Amy scratched her head. "…Well...exactly how long are we talking about? It's just, I'm really not doing well in this heat, so I'm not sure how useful I'd be."

Ace glanced at Solo. The boy kept his eyes closed as the silence dragged on, but eventually, he said, "I'll do it."

Everyone looked up. The Shaman stood up and said, "Oh, we would be honored to have you as our guest! Yes, I'm positive the people will feel much safer simply knowing a descendant of Mu is protecting them!"

Ace turned towards Copper, who was staring hard at him. Reluctantly, Copper gave a short nod, and Ace typed into his screen.

"Thanks, Solo! We'll keep in…oh, wait, you don't have a Hunter. Do you have another spare, detective?"

"I don't want your human technology," Solo said. "If you must speak with me, then contact the Shaman. And make sure it's something important."

"As long as you're okay with that?" Ace asked.

The Shaman nodded. "Yes, of course." He inhaled sharply, looking around and smiling. "Thank you all so much. I don't know that Whazzap has ever been treated so kindly…I cannot tell you how much this means to me."

"It is an honor to work with you," Copper said with a bow. "We will return to Electopia tomorrow and immediately begin constructing your security team. The moment we have news for you, we will contact you."

"That should do it, then," Ace said, closing the display. "Thanks, everyone. Now go enjoy yourselves while we're here!"

As the others got up, Ace realized there was a notification on his Hunter. Pulling it up, he discovered it was a new mission report, and as he began to read its contents a heavy frown came to his face.

* * *

Sonia sat against the wall not far from the door to Jack's cell, neither of the guards seeming all that willing to interact with her. She hopped to her feet when she saw Boreal approaching.

"I got the gist from the officers," he said. "Is he awake yet?"

"Yeah, he is."

She followed him over to the door. Before he opened it, however, he stopped short. Turning back to face her, he said, "You've done enough. You don't need to be involved in this part if you have something else to do."

Sonia gave him a confused look. "Huh? No, I'll stay."

Boreal slowly undid the door. Inside, Jack was pressed up against the bars, holding them like he expected to rip them off and shooting a malicious glare at his visitors. Boreal sat down. Sonia remained standing.

"Where's my sister?" Jack asked.

"She's still being held here," Boreal said. "No need to worry about her."

"I want to see her!"

"We can't allow that."

Sonia glanced at him sideways.

"Aren't you supposed to be in charge?" Jack asked. "It's not like anyone can stop you, right? Make it happen!"

Boreal opened the file he had brought and flipped a few pages.

"Hey, asshole!"

"So tell me, Jack," Boreal said calmly. "Where is Dealer's base of operations located?"

"What?! I'm not telling you anything until you let me see my sister!"

"That's not how it works here. Please answer the question."

Stepping forward, Sonia said, "Mr. Boreal, we can at least let them see each other. I'm sure they'll be more cooperative after—"

"Not if we just give in to their demands," Boreal interrupted. "Jack, what can you tell me about what Dealer is planning?"

Sonia furrowed her brow. Jack, meanwhile, gritted his teeth and said, "I'm not telling you anything! If you want answers so badly, let me see Tia—then maybe I'll feel like talking!"

"What can you tell me about the Noise Wave you used to attack the school?"

"Listen to me, you idiot! What part of 'I'm not talking' do you not understand?"

Boreal sighed and closed the file. "Well, if that's the case…"

He got up to leave. Jack's eyes widened, and he said, "Hey, hang on a second!"

Boreal grabbed the door, but Sonia put her hand against it. "Mr. Boreal!"

"There's nothing more to be done," Boreal said. "If he's not willing to give us any information, then there's no point in talking to him."

"If we let him see Ms. Tia, we'll probably get some answers! It can't hurt to try!"

"It _can_ , Sonia. I can't just let them meet on good faith. One of them needs to give me something before I can even consider an exchange." He turned back to Jack. "Do you have anything for me?"

Jack just glared at him.

"Still," Sonia said, "this doesn't…even if we don't get any additional information, isn't it enough that we've captured them? Can't we just—"

"No, Sonia," Boreal said. "That's my stance until they hand over something to negotiate with. Now, let's go."

Sonia stared hard at him. Behind her, Jack mumbled, "Fine…I got something you'll want to hear."

Boreal glanced over his shoulder.

"Before I left, I heard King giving Joker his next orders."

Sonia bristled.

"Let me meet with my sister, and I'll tell you what they were."

Boreal just looked away.

"I'm serious!" Jack shouted. "He's gonna attack in a matter of days—if you guys don't stop him, who knows how many innocent people he'll kill! Don't you want to stop that?"

"Mr. Boreal," Sonia said. "You can't really—"

He silenced her with a look she'd never seen before. It was enough to get her to release her hold, so he opened the door and left the cell. A few moments later, Sonia's surprise started to turn to anger, and she rushed after him.

"Mr. Boreal!"

He didn't answer her, just continued down the hallway.

"If Joker's going to attack, then we need to know where! How is that not something we can work with?"

"It is," Boreal said.

Sonia blinked. "What…?"

"Assuming he's not bluffing, that's valuable intel. But we're not going to discuss whether to grant his request or not in front of him."

It took her a few moments to process his response. Shaking her head, she asked, "Mr. Boreal…what are you doing?"

Boreal stopped in front of the elevator and sighed. "Sonia…I'm just trying to get as much information as I can. Jack's much more likely to give us something, but I'm positive he'll clam up once we let him see Queen Tia. We have one chance. I need to make the most of it, and the best way to do that…is to make him think he _needs_ to tell us as much as he can, or he'll never see his sister again."

Sonia gaped at him.

"I know. But this might be our only chance. Dealer is dangerous, and has to be stopped."

"I don't need to be reminded of that," Sonia said quietly. "But this isn't the right way to do it. Jack's scared, and lonely, and just wants to see his sister so he knows everything is okay. How can you take advantage of that?"

Boreal looked her in the eye. "By approaching it as a scientist. It's a simple matter of what's likely to do the most good, and if Jack can tell us something that'll help us stop Dealer soon, that'll go a long way towards keeping plenty of people safe. When you look at it objectively, the choice is easy."

"So that's it?! You're willing to let the end justify any means?"

"Of course not. I'm not going to take this too far, I'm only going to apply a small amount of pressure before I give him what he wants."

"This is already going too far! How can you be okay with what this is going to do to Jack?"

"Look at it another way. Suppose he does know where Joker's going to attack next, we let him see Queen Tia, and then he decides he doesn't want to tell us anymore. Would you be alright knowing we missed an opportunity to prevent the damage Joker ends up doing?"

Sonia clenched her fists as she tried to think of a counterargument.

"I know you don't like it. But if we have a chance to stop Joker—"

"Stop it! Of course I want Joker stopped, you don't have to make this about him!"

"It _is_ about him, Sonia."

"No, it's about Jack! We have a chance to help him, and you're only making things worse! Wherever Joker shows up, I'll be there to tear him down, but we don't have to hurt Jack to get there!"

"This will get us there ahead of time. We can help Jack when this is all over."

"But he's here _now_!"

"Sonia, you aren't thinking ahead at all. This could be the difference that saves someone's life! Is letting Joker kill someone really worth this?"

Sonia jerked a half-step back, her face twisting into a dark scowl. She shouted, "He's not going to kill anyone else! I can stop him—"

" _You don't know that!_ " Boreal said. "I know you'll do everything you can, Sonia, but that doesn't mean you'll get a perfect victory! There's no way to guarantee Joker won't kill someone before you even get there, no way to guarantee he'll leave them in a state where we can piece them back together afterwards. It's too risky a gamble! You can't just expect you'll find a way to resolve this in a completely ideal fashion. We can take steps to increase your chance of success, but sometimes the only way to do that is by doing something less than ideal."

"That's terrible! You sound just like…" she started, but couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence. She didn't need to, however. Boreal knew who she meant.

"I may not be able to do things ideally, but that doesn't mean I'm giving up all my ideals. It isn't that black and white, Sonia—I wish so much that it could be, but it's not. You've already had to do things you didn't think were ideal, haven't you?"

"Only when I didn't have a choice! We have a choice here, and you're choosing what you know isn't good for Jack."

Boreal sighed. "Sonia. Was Jack open to you helping him when you fought him at the school?"

"…No."

"Did he seem all that open to it now?"

"No."

"Do you think meeting with Tia, and having her tell him not to share any information at all, will make him more open to it."

"We don't know that she's going to say that!"

"She's hardly said a word since coming here. Her stances on giving up information is already clear, and Jack will do whatever she tells him to do."

"…Maybe…but…"

"We can't help them right now, Sonia. All we can do is get information that will help us end this, and see if that changes their mind. What other choice do we have?"

A heavy silence spread over them both. Sonia tried desperately to think of something to say, but her mind was reeling, still trying to process exactly what was happening. And then her thoughts turned to Joker.

Sonia looked down and mumbled, "At least keep me informed."

"I will," Boreal said.

She turned and started walking. She wasn't sure which way she was headed, but she just kept moving.

* * *

King looked at the card-sized display in his hand. An image from security footage outside Echo Ridge school was on it, showing Jack being taken away by the Satella Police. He sighed and dropped it in a pile.

"Now perhaps he'll learn his lesson," King muttered, shuffling the remaining cards he had. "He's always been a tough one to discipline, but perhaps WAZA will have better luck with him than I."

He spun his chair around and moved it forward, coming to a stop next to Heartless. Joker stood ahead, just down a handful of stairs, and he waited attentively to hear what King would say next.

"Regardless, I have a feeling we'll get much more work done now that we won't have Jack blundering about. It is time for us to play our wild card."

Joker nodded. "I will not fail you again, Mr. King. Now that Jack has been captured, have my orders changed? He may leak our initial plans to WAZA."

King laughed. "That is precisely the point, Joker! How do you expect to collect multitudes of Crimson without our friends there to harvest it? I gave Jack this task knowing that he would fail it—of course I don't want Harp Note dead! This was chosen as punishment for Jack's disobedience specifically so that he could deliver a message to them, so that they could mark their calendars and come lend us a hand."

"I see. Forgive me, Mr. King, I did not realize."

"Oho, no harm done! Though, there is one thing I want to be sure you keep in mind."

King beckoned. Joker stepped forward.

"While you are most certainly free to have a bit of fun…I will not tolerate any more unauthorized killing."

Joker nodded. "Yes, Mr. King. I understand."

"Excellent!" King said, clapping his hands together.

Joker paused for a moment. "If I may, Mr. King…should Acid be there…what permissions do I have?"

King stroked his chin. "Hm, not satisfied with the copies, it would seem."

"To be frank…no."

"You must have known we lack the required programs to fully recreate Acid," Heartless said. "Do not act as though this comes as a surprise."

"But they are weak," Joker said. "Weaker than I expected. And weakness does not befit Acid."

King chuckled. "Indeed, I do not think the Acid copies possess much potential either. So, all things considered…yes. I will permit you an opportunity, Joker."

Joker straightened up in surprise. A smile came to his face, and he said, "Thank you, Mr. King! I truly appreciate your generosity!"

"And that is _one_ opportunity, my boy. If they turn out to have the stronger hand, you are not to play another round. Do I make myself clear?"

"Perfectly, sir. One opportunity is all I require."

"Hoho, it is nice to see you so enthusiastic! That will be all for now, Joker."

Joker made his way out of the meeting room. As King returned to shuffling his cards, Heartless brushed aside her hair and glanced at him.

"It's a fool's wager," she said.

"Of course, my dear Heartless. I know how to read the odds."

"And you are certain Joker will stick to his orders when he fails to reach Acid?"

"Ho ho…well, he _is_ a wild card. It's difficult to say for sure. But if it worries you, my dear, fret not: I have prepared for the possibility of Joker defying me."

Heartless simply looked away and hummed.

"It's too late for them to stop us now," King said, drawing a card that depicted Meteor G. "Joker's efforts are only to hasten the inevitable! Ho ho, I cannot wait to see the look on their faces when the deck runs out!"

* * *

Notes:

-I somehow managed to get this one done quickly. Since last one took so long (and this one ended up a bit short), I figured I'd go ahead and post it in an attempt to balance things out a little. Anyway, _Red Joker_ now has more chapters than _Tribe_ , but is actually about 2000 words shorter—next update will be the one to officially make this the longest story in the series. Just, trivia.

-It may seem like Solo's been sidelined for the time being, but given the situation he was the best candidate for the job. He's also still fairly curious about Whazzap, so he's not totally ready to leave just yet, and I think it'll be a good experience for him to be somewhere that actually welcomes him. He won't be here for long: as soon as Ace gets a second to send over a team, Solo will head back to the main story and take center stage. Sonia will have his help in several key battles coming up, I promise!

-The "approach it as a scientist" idea is something that's going to be in a fairly important scene late in the story, and I've been finding other places to start working out what that means as build-up to it. When Boreal first mentioned it, it was to Sonia's advantage, but this time, not so much. I won't hammer it in so much it gets repetitive, it'll just pop up a couple more times to further complicate Sonia's take on it.

-"That's terrible! You sound just like…[Walters]"

-Joker cares a good deal more about Acid this time around. This is going to change his behavior a bit, but I will do my best to make sure it doesn't clash with his core character. We're entering the part of the story with a _lot_ more Joker, so you'll soon understand why as this version of the character gets fleshed out. I definitely think Joker is interesting. But, there are a few aspects that I thought it would be better to put more focus on, sort of like with Rey.

-To The Unplanner: there are nine numbered Mal Wizards, 2 through 10, and they're basically the rank between generic grunt and "officer" (Joker, Tia, Jack, formerly Ace). (Heartless has her own special rank above that.) I'm thinking the currently open spots will be filled by new Wizards in the near future, but I'll make a note of that when it comes up. And thank you for the ideas on Terra Condor! I might borrow a few of those for the next time we see him in action

-And that's that. I have half an idea for next chapter, I just need to get on it and figure out what the second half is going to be about. Hopefully it'll be out some time in October.


	22. Chapter 22

"What do you mean it was destroyed?!" Rosa asked.

On her Transer screen, Boreal shook his head. "I went to check on the equipment first thing, but it's been smashed to bits. Whoever it was, they were thorough: I don't think we can salvage anything. I'm sorry, Rosa."

Rosa rubbed her temple. "And it was this hard to find someone who would even agree to work with us…can we afford to replace everything?"

"It's…hard to say for sure…"

"Walters must have found out somehow. We'll need to be more careful going forward."

"I don't suppose our friend could help us out with this part too?"

Rosa picked at the bench beneath her. "Too late to ask. She's officially off the grid—even I can't get ahold of her."

"Oh," Boreal said, brightening up a bit. "That sounds like good news, though! Maybe she's got something."

"It's hard to tell, but we can dream. She seemed to get along with Kelvin and Hope for some reason, so I…" She trailed off, looking down at herself. An incredibly sharp pain had just appeared in her chest, but it was gone just as suddenly.

"Rosa?"

"Uh, sorry. The point is, we can't just leave it all to her. I'll go over my finances and see what I can work out. In the meantime, would you look into some hired security? The third time might be the charm, but there's no way our funds will stretch that far."

"I'll do what I can," Boreal said, leaning slightly out of frame to write something down. "Unless I have any good news, I'll see you on Monday."

Rosa said goodbye and closed her Transer, taking a moment to put a hand to her chest and breathe deeply. Nothing felt out of the ordinary. Pushing the matter away, she looked up towards the playground, smiling as she realized Sonia was running over.

"Mama, did you see?" Sonia said as she bounced onto the bench. "I swung real high, even higher than the other kids!"

"That's wonderful, Sonia!" she said, immediately hugging her. "I'm sorry, I didn't see it. I was on the phone with Mr. Boreal about an important project."

"That's okay, Mama—I can do it again! Oh, but the kids I was playing with had to go home, so I can't show you I was higher than them…"

"That's okay, I believe you. Of course my incredible daughter can do incredible things!"

Rosa set her hand on Sonia's head, and the girl giggled for a moment before getting a thoughtful look in her eye. "Hey, Mama, did your Mama say the same thing to you?"

For just a moment, Rosa frowned. Catching herself, she smiled an almost-convincing smile and answered, "Ah, well…my relationship with my Mama was a bit different."

Sonia reached up, picking Rosa's hand up off her head so she could hold it. "You never talk about your family. The other kids were talking about their grandpas and aunts and cousins…what's the rest of our family like? Can I meet them?"

Rosa's façade only cracked further as she stroked Sonia's hair. "I'd like that, Sonia…I _have_ tried to make it happen. A lot of times, actually. But I've never gotten an answer, so…I don't think it's going to happen any time soon. I'm sorry."

She kissed Sonia's forehead. The girl gave her a confused look, saying, "That doesn't sound very nice. Why would they act like that?"

Rosa put her arm around Sonia's shoulder. As her daughter leaned against her, Rosa looked up at the sky. "Well…a few years ago, my family and I really disagreed about something; something I really wanted, that was very important to me, and they were dead-set against. It wasn't the kind of thing we could compromise on. But it was my choice to make, and I went through with it…and my parents haven't spoken to me since."

"What?!" Sonia said. "That's terrible!" She paused for a moment before mumbling, "They sound like…bad people."

Rosa just stared up into the sky for a few seconds, taking all the time she needed to figure out what she needed to say. "Well, Sonia, I think that more often than not…people aren't just ' _bad_ '. We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do: the things that others have told us, the things that we experience, they all affect us in ways we don't even realize, turning each and every one of us into our own individual, unique person. I think most people want to do what they think is right. But because we're all so different, sometimes people disagree on what the right thing to do is. Or sometimes, people get confused, or misguided, and do something they're not sure is right because they're also not sure if it's wrong."

Sonia squirmed. "I don't think I get it, Mama."

Rosa chuckled, nudging her gently. "Sorry, kiddo. People are a lot more complicated than they seem—even I don't fully understand it!"

"So…you don't think your family are bad people?"

"No, I don't. We're just different. But we all share a stubborn streak that makes working out those differences way harder than it needs to be." She chuckled softly. "If I end up passing that onto you, I'm sorry. Just remember: there are times to be stubborn, and times to _not_ be stubborn. Okay?"

Sonia nodded. "Okay! I'll remember, Mama!"

Rosa patted her on the head again, and then returned to looking up at the sky. Sonia looked that way as well.

"…Mama?"

"Hm?"

"Do you miss your family?"

"…Yeah. I do."

"Do you…do you regret doing whatever it was you wanted to do?"

Rosa turned and smiled at Sonia. This time, it was genuine. "Not at all."

She hugged Sonia again, but when they parted, that same pain came back. Turning aside, she leaned forward and found herself coughing uncontrollably.

"Mama?!" Sonia cried, latching onto her shirt.

Thankfully it didn't last long. Rosa turned back to Sonia and said, "S-Sorry, kiddo, I'm fine. Must've gotten something stuck in my throat, I guess."

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I am. Sorry to worry you."

Sonia let out a sigh of relief.

"Hey, why don't you show me how high you can swing?"

Cheering up again, Sonia nodded and scampered off. While she had her back turned, Rosa rubbed her throat, and then opened her Transer to type something into it.

* * *

Sonia snapped to attention as Jack was brought into the room. She looked from him, to Boreal, to Ace, to the one-way mirror through which they could see Tia in the room beyond.

… _I'm…not sure…_

Jack stopped and glared at Ace. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Ace smiled. "It's good to see you again, Jack. Hey, have you gotten taller?"

"Shut up! I'm not here to see you!"

Craning his neck, he spotted Tia. He started forward, but his escort held him back. Boreal stepped forward.

"Jack," Boreal said. "We need you to give us the information now."

"I'll tell you after I talk to her," Jack said, refusing to make eye contact with the man.

"No, Jack. Either you tell us now, or we call this whole thing off."

Sonia bit her lip.

"…Fine," Jack grumbled. "Listen up, alright? It'll be four days from now. Joker's going to attack WBG Studios, make all the Wizards there go crazy and generate as much Crimson as he can. That's all I heard."

 _The studio again?_ Sonia thought. _That's not a lot of time. We need to make sure everyone's out before then._

Boreal waited a moment before stepping aside. The officer brought Jack over to a door, opened it just enough to push him through, and then stepped back. Everyone's eyes then turned to the mirror.

Tia looked up as Jack stumbled into the room. Her face showed actual surprise as she said, "Jack?"

"Sis!" Jack said, running over to her. "You're okay! I'm so glad…"

Tia's expression dulled slightly (though not entirely) as she stood up. "Jack, what are you doing here?"

"King had me attack the school."

Sonia didn't know what to call Tia's split-second reaction.

"He said if I killed Harp Note, he'd break you out. So, I did my best…but…" He scratched his head, his eyes drifting.

"Now WAZA's captured you too," Tia finished.

Jack stared at the floor. "…I'm sorry, sis. I just…I didn't know what to do…you were in trouble, and King wasn't doing anything! I only wanted…I didn't mean to mess it up. I'm sorry."

A long silence followed. Then, surprising everyone, Tia suddenly reached forward and wrapped her arms around Jack. "Don't apologize, Jack. You didn't do anything wrong."

Jack started to shake as he hugged his sister back. He shut his eyes tightly, and clung to her for dear life. "Sis…"

"It's going to be alright, understand?" she said, her voice quiet and smooth. "We're going to be alright."

"R-Right. Right…"

Sonia glanced at Ace. His face seemed calm enough, but in his hand he was grinding a candy bar to dust.

Eventually, Tia pulled back, keeping her hands on his shoulders as she bent slightly to look him in the eye. "Jack. If they let us meet, then I assume that means you gave them some kind of information."

Jack gave a short nod. "…Joker's next orders. I know I shouldn't have, but—"

"I see. Listen to me, Jack: that's nothing important. I'm not mad. But I want you to promise me you won't tell them anything else."

"Okay, sis. I promise."

Boreal let out a loud sigh.

Tia reached for Jack's face, wiping a tear away with her thumb. She smiled, and it was such a warm, loving smile that it rendered her unrecognizable to the onlookers. "We'll get through this, Jack. It's nothing but a short inconvenience. We'll be fine."

"Y-Yeah," Jack said with a sniff. "This is nothing! Our dream will come true in no time—I'll make sure of it!"

Tia nodded. Her smile faded quickly as she straightened up, and she turned her usual, dull gaze at the mirror. Jack turned as well, making a rude gesture, and then he faced the other way and crossed his arms.

"I guess that's that," Boreal said. "Take them back to their cells."

No one said anything as the two were led out by the officers. Boreal departed soon after, leaving Sonia and Ace the only ones still in the room.

"…Are you really okay with this?" Sonia asked.

Ace turned to the candy bar he held, but realizing what had become of it, he shoved it into his pocket. "You seemed to be."

Sonia gaped as he drew out another bar. An irritation started in the back of her mind, quickly becoming guilt, and she said, "Maybe there's something we can do: put them in a single cell, or transfer them elsewhere if that's not possible here."

Ace slowly peeled away the wrapper. "I've already suggested a lot of ideas like that to the Chief. He's not budging on this one."

"But still…" She shook her head.

Ace stared at the candy bar for a moment. Turning his head, he asked, "Hey, Sonia…why did you go along with this?"

She felt a flash of hostility. "Mr. Boreal said this was our best chance to stop Joker. I want to stop him, so…I ended up giving this a try."

"So stopping Joker is what's most important?"

Her anger boiled up even further. "What are you trying to say, Ace?"

"What? No, I'm asking."

Slowly, she turned to face him.

"Is that what you think is most important? Is that what you think is right? Because, I'm…" Ace glanced aside as he finished, "I'm really not sure. But, you always do what's right, so if you're okay with it, then…"

The hostility was gone, replaced by an immense, crushing weight.

Ace looked at the candy bar again. He sighed, hastily stuffing it back in the wrapper and into his pocket. "Sorry. I'm still trying to figure out how to do things the way you do, but I know I still have a long way to go. I'm definitely willing to take down Joker and crush Dealer—if that's what you think is best, then I'm behind you 100%, Sonia. Just…" He tried to smile. "Well, don't hold it against me if I get a bit distracted. I just wish there was more I could do for Jack and Tia."

Sonia stared at him in silence as he left the room.

"Are you alright, dear?" Lyra asked.

Sonia put a hand over her face. "…Never thought I would make someone feel guilty…just for wanting to help people…"

"Sonia…"

She pulled her hand away and inhaled sharply. "We, uh…we need to see what's being done about the studio. It's important we stay on top of that."

Sonia made her way out into the hall and off in the direction she figured Boreal had headed. The weight followed her.

* * *

Shepar stood next to the window, looking out and down the side of the mountain where WAZA HQ was built. Behind him, Copper and Wolfe sat at a table, waiting for him to take in all the information they had just shared with him, and Wolf grumbled quietly near the door. The teacher sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, and mumbled, "I can't believe it…"

"I know this all must come as a shock," Copper said. "We've been trying to keep quiet about things like Wave Change and Dealer to avoid throwing the public into a panic, but—"

"That's not what I mean," Shepar interrupted. "After all that happened with the FM-ians before, I can handle learning about that."

"Then what…?"

Shepar turned around, glaring straight at Copper. "But I can't believe that an organization as big as WAZA is recruiting children to fight their battles for them."

Copper looked down. Wolfe said, "Mitch, that's not—"

"And you knew about this!" Shepar went on, now turning his glare on Wolfe. "I thought you cared about keeping the kids safe—how can you be okay with sending them into battle like this?"

"Frankly, they're the ones most qualified for the job."

"What?!"

Wolf snorted. "Heard two of 'em beat you and Libra back in the day. Can't be that big a shock."

Shepar turned to the FM-ian, but before he could respond, Copper got up from his chair and came forward. "Mr. Shepar…I understand how you feel. Many of us here are deeply troubled by the reality of our situation, and would like nothing more than to let these kids live normal, safe lives. That's how _I_ feel."

"Then why have you let it go on?" Shepar asked. "I can't believe that this is the only way!"

"Unfortunately, it is. As much as the Satella Police have advanced, our best weapons are no match for even a single competent Wave Change user—that was made quite clear to us when one of them stormed this very building. We were powerless. This technique simply puts its users on a plane too high above us."

"Isn't there a way for the police to use Wave Change?"

"We've got one officer testing a Wizard specifically made to do that, but our replication of the process is still flawed. It's killing him."

That stunned Shepar for a moment. When he recovered, he said, "You said you were allied with Planet FM now, right? Couldn't you ask them to send more help?"

"…Possibly. However, we have reason to believe the current state of Planet FM might make such a request less than ideal, and more importantly: the interference currently being caused by Meteor G makes contacting them in any capacity extremely unlikely."

"Was there a time where you could have made that request? When you knew this Dealer group was a potential issue and that getting some more help was a possibility?"

Copper averted his eyes.

"Then why didn't you?"

"We didn't know the situation would become _this_ dire! Looking into recreating Wave Change seemed the best solution at the time, and even if we hadn't actively approached Sonia and the others, they surely would've been drawn into this nonetheless. We could either provide them with what knowledge and support we had, or leave them to their own devices. I think we chose the better option."

Shepar shook his head and turned away.

"Keeping those kids out of the fight just isn't an option, Mr. Shepar! Sonia's made such a name for herself already that anyone with nefarious intentions already has their sights set on her and her friends! And there was no way to stop her from achieving that in the first place: I was assigned to do just that, and my then-superior resorted to things so underhanded in his attempts…" He sighed heavily. "…This is the situation we find ourselves in. Of course I wish there was more that we could do for them, but the fact is that there isn't, not now. I'd take Ace's place in a heartbeat if I could, but…"

Wolfe looked back at Wolf. The FM-ian snarled, saying, "Look, I don't get what your problem is. They're strong—that's all that matters. Don't think this extreme value on 'children' you've got is going to sway me."

"Fine," Wolfe said. "But don't you want another chance to fight Corvus?"

Wolf growled.

"Between that and how you've been complaining about being bored, I don't see why you're being so stubborn."

"Because you said you weren't willing to kill the bastard!"

Wolfe paused for a moment. "…Is that really worth totally passing on the opportunity you're being given?"

Wolf didn't answer. Shepar walked up to Copper and said, "Detective…are there any other EM beings on Earth right now?"

"We have a PM-ian named Plesio under our care," Copper said, "but he has deep psychological damage. I can't in good conscience force him to help us."

"What about the FM-ians? Are any more of them still around?"

"…We've been looking into it. I assume you've got someone in mind?"

Shepar nodded. "Do you know where Libra is?"

"No."

"Really?"

"Really. We've been searching high and low—Ace is far more zealous than you know about this very issue—but we haven't been able to determine if Libra's still about." Copper paused. "Would you like to be notified if that changes?"

"I would like to be notified of _all_ changes. Now that I know these kids—some of my students—are in danger, I have to do whatever I can to help them, even if it's as limited as you keep saying it is."

Copper put his hands in his pockets, taking a moment to think. "I may be able to arrange that. But again, this could get dangerous. Are you really ready for what could happen if you get further involved?"

Shepar grinned. "Hard to say for sure before trying…but I have to at least try. Just tell me what I can do."

* * *

Solo stood silently atop the cliff wall, his eyes fixed on the sprawling temple down below. Laplace floated next to him, and when the EM being turned suddenly, Solo became aware of the Shaman and Condor approaching. He glanced at them over his shoulder.

"May we join you?" the Shaman asked.

Solo looked away. "…Suit yourself."

The Shaman turned to Laplace, who nodded, and then came closer to the edge. "I've always enjoyed this view. You can get a much better look at the lines from here, as well as a better appreciation for the temple's true splendor. Something of a walk, though—these days I worry each visit could be my last."

"We could fly here easily when Wave Changed," Condor said. "There is no need to strain yourself, friend."

"I am grateful, Condor. I may have to take you up on that soon."

Solo didn't say anything.

"…So," the Shaman said, "what do you think of our humble village?"

After thinking a moment, Solo said, "I don't know that I'm qualified to judge a community. However, this place…does have a very pleasant feel to it. I can understand why the Dinosaur Tribe chose to settle here."

The Shaman smiled. Condor perched on the head of his staff then, asking, "Solo, if I may…why is it that you fight against Dealer? It seems unusual that you would take an interest in them, unless…"

Laplace buzzed.

"I suppose you have a point," Solo said. Still, he took a very long pause before continuing, "When I went to Mu, I discovered something…a scroll detailing the location of a priceless treasure. Something that will grant me truly unstoppable power. After months of searching, I finally came upon a hidden Murian shrine, only to find that its seal had been broken and its contents taken."

Condor cocked his head. "What treasure is this? I do not recall hearing of such a thing."

Laplace said something, but Solo only replied, "You'll know when it's mine."

"…Well," the Shaman said, "if you're saying that Dealer stole this treasure, do you have something linking them to the crime?"

"Not exactly."

The Shaman blinked.

"Whoever stole this treasure must have some need for Murian power, like Vega did. It didn't take long to discover that Dealer is the only organization with the means to uncover the shrine. It has to be them."

"I suppose that makes sense," Condor said. "But, is it not also possible that there is some other unknown agent at work?"

"…Perhaps. I suppose if Dealer doesn't have it, then I'll just forget them and look elsewhere."

Laplace poked Solo's shoulder, and the boy waved them off mumbling something. The Shaman asked, "You would abandon Harp Note and the others to continue their fight alone?"

Solo turned to look at him. "Of course. I don't owe them anything. All that matters is getting this power back in Murian hands."

"Why? Why does power matter so much to you?"

"Murian power matters to me because I am the last who can wield it to its true potential," Solo said. "I am the Final Heir to Mu, the only one who can show exactly what a Murian warrior is capable of. When I fight, the legacy of Mu is tested. If I lose, then it is blemished…so I must find a way to win, no matter the opponent. That is all I can do to honor the achievements of my ancestors."

The Shaman stroked his beard as he contemplated this. "I see. What I have heard of your love for Mu was no exaggeration. Your pride in that legacy is quite admirable, Solo."

It was slight, but Solo's expression grew a bit softer.

"Though, I cannot help but wonder if fighting is truly _all_ you can do to honor it."

"There was so much more to Mu than its warriors," Condor said. "I have shared tales of every aspect of the culture, all I can remember, and tried to pass on the knowledge of Mu. Dr. Vega works to emulate the best of its technology, so that their discoveries can continue to aid the world. Why should you focus solely upon how Mu fought its battles?"

Solo turned away again.

"We do not mean to criticize," the Shaman said. "We only seek to understand, Solo. From what you have told me…you speak almost as though you have no choice in the matter. Walking a path such as that is something that can easily wear on a person's soul."

Laplace set their hand on Solo's shoulder. Eventually, Solo faced the Shaman once more.

"Fighting is all I've ever known…so you're right: I don't entirely feel like I have a choice. But even so, I don't feel trapped, not anymore. I'm sure I could stop fighting if I wanted to, find another way to continue Mu's legacy if I wanted to…but I don't. I want to keep fighting."

"And why is that?" the Shaman asked.

Solo looked down, unable to answer.

"If you don't know, then that's fine. You're still young, Solo—and from what I've been told, you've faced many hardships. Making sense of the world, or even ourselves, is something we all need ages to do even under the best conditions. Take all the time you need. If there is ever anything we can do to help you, know that you will always be welcome in Whazzap."

The Shaman didn't expect an answer, and he left without receiving one. Solo stared after him for a time. Laplace leaned down next to Solo, stayed silent for a moment, and then emitted a short buzz.

"Shut up."

* * *

Luna glanced to the other end of the sofa, where Sonia sat. She was staring ahead at nothing in particular, not moving an inch—she had barely touched her tea. Setting her own cup down, Luna moved towards her and asked, "Sonia, what's wrong?"

Sonia turned sharply, like she was snapping out of a trance. Quickly smiling, she said, "O-Oh, nothing, nothing! Just lost in thought."

"And what were you thinking about?"

Sonia's eyes wandered. "…Nothing in particular," she muttered, lifting her cup to take a small drink.

A scowl began to form on Luna's face. Before it completed, however, she sighed, opted for a calmer expression, and said, "Sonia, talk to me. Please? If something's bothering you, I want to know what it is."

Sonia turned back and insisted, "It's really nothing, Luna! Nothing for you to worry about. Everything's fine."

Luna looked down and fidgeted for a moment, and then reached out to tug on Sonia's sleeve. "Look…I know you just want to help me, but I want to help you too. It's not fair to give you half of my burden while you're struggling with your own." She looked Sonia in the eye. "I can at least listen. Let me do that much."

Sonia stared back at her. Eventually, she broke eye contact, shifted in her seat, and quietly said, "It's just…it's Jack, and Tia…and Ace, I guess…WAZA…and…"

Luna inched closer. "Okay. Start from the beginning."

Sonia focused on her tea, slowly stirring it. "I was there when Jack and Tia were talking, like I told you before. And the whole thing just…didn't feel right, somehow. I noticed Ace looked really agitated, so afterwards I asked if he was okay with it…he turned around and asked me why I said _I_ was okay with it to begin with."

Her motions ground to a halt.

"I was so sure at first, telling Mr. Boreal that we shouldn't try to coerce information out of Jack. That what was most important—that the right thing to do was to do what we could to help the two of them."

She paused, so Luna asked, "What changed?"

Sonia narrowed her eyes, clenching her teeth before she could answer, "Mr. Boreal said it was our only chance to stop…Dealer. That they were going to hurt people if we didn't get the information."

Luna nodded. "So you wanted to save people."

After a small delay, Sonia shook her head. "It wasn't that. I mean, of course I want to save anyone I can, but that's not what changed my mind. I wasn't thinking about saving anyone…I was thinking about stopping…about fighting…"

She hesitated. Just as hesitantly, Luna finished, "Joker?"

Sonia nodded. A tense silence followed. She leaned forward, setting her cup down on the coffee table, and then put a hand over her mouth and stared ahead and down. Finally, she said, "I cared more about fighting him than helping Jack and Tia. I stopped thinking about helping them, because I wanted…to fight Joker, and…"

Luna uneasily slid forward so she could take Sonia's hand.

"I gave up on what I knew was right because I wanted a chance to take revenge," Sonia muttered. "And now that I've realized that, and I've seen what state Jack and Tia are really in…that's my fault."

"It is not your fault," Luna stated.

"But I'm making it worse. I had a chance to help them, and I decided I'd rather fight someone, I…" She closed her eyes and clenched her fist, sliding it up towards her forehead. "Ace was saying he was okay with it because I was…because I always do the right thing, because I'm a heroine…but I didn't do the right thing. I knew what I should've done, and I didn't do it, and now they…"

"You can't expect yourself to be perfect, Sonia. Everyone makes mistakes."

"But this is…" She paused to gather her thoughts, sitting up a little straighter. "…I always fight for my ideals. If I'm going to be a heroine, then it's important to act like one: to care about saving people instead of hurting them, to _do what's right_ …not choose to do what's wrong. I just gave up on…it's like I betrayed what I stood for, who I was, and that…like I'm not really…"

Sonia started to shake. Luna hugged her shoulders and said, "That's not fair. You can't hold yourself to that high a standard Sonia—you're only human. We all…" She trailed off, realizing that she was shaking now too.

"I'm sorry," Sonia said. "You've already…I don't mean to…"

Luna knew the tears were coming, but she did what she could to hold them back. "Don't apologize! Just because I'm hurting doesn't mean you can't hurt too. I'm here for you, okay? We're here for each other. Whatever happens, we need to face it together…that's the only way…we're going to…"

She couldn't fight them back any more. Sonia started crying at the same time she did. So they just cried together, feeling overwhelmed by their fears and their failings, both their own and each other's, letting the emotion break over them until there was none of it left. And, when it was all over, they were both still there together.

"…What are we going to do?" Sonia asked.

Luna shook her head. "I don't know. But, still…I know we're going to be okay."

Sonia turned to look at her. "Will we really?"

"We will," Luna said, tightly grasping Sonia's hands. "Even if we don't know how yet, I know that things are going to get better. Because I believe in you…and in us…and I know that even with the problems looming over us now, we're not going to quit until we've solved them. It'll be hard, I'm sure. But we're going to do it." She smiled as she finished, "Right?"

Sonia smiled back, and then came forward to kiss Luna. "Right. I should've known that."

The two of them leaned back and moved closer together, entwining their arms as Luna set her head on Sonia's shoulder and Sonia set her head against Luna's. In unison they breathed a deep sigh. A pervasive sense of dread was still there, but it felt duller now, more distant. They knew they couldn't fix anything in that moment. So, while they waited for a moment when they could, it was an immeasurable comfort just to have the other next to them.

"I love you, Sonia," Luna said.

Sonia nudged her gently. "And I love you, Luna."

* * *

Notes:

-Yikes, two months? That's not what I was hoping for. My first instinct is to apologize, but the main reason I've hardly written anything in so long is because my depression spent the past several weeks kicking my ass and I'm trying to stop apologizing for things that aren't my fault. Since work stress is a part of that and that's likely to continue through Christmas, please understand if I don't have particularly convincing assurances that I'll do better next time. I'm doing my best, and that's really all I can guarantee.

-I was originally planning fewer flashbacks, but I thought a few more would help pace them better. The "prompt" if you will was just to show that Rosa was starting to get sick, though it presented a good opportunity to broach the topic of Sonia's extended family. While I didn't really question it back in the day, looking at it now, it's sort of weird that Sonia was left entirely on her own after her mother died—even if her father wasn't in the picture, you'd think some relative would take care of her. The best answer I could come up with was that Rosa had some sort of falling out that her family refused to move past. The nature of said falling out is implied here, but I'll have more details on Rosa's history with her family later in the story.

-Don't really have much else to say. My current plan is for the next two chapters to focus on two major battles, and then chapter 25 will show the aftermath as well as setup the next set of engagements. Now I just roll for motivation, and…


	23. Chapter 23

The officer locked the door behind him as he stepped into Tia's cell. Over on the other side of the room, she sat perfectly still on the bed provided to her, her back to the entrance and not speaking a single word.

"Meal's here," the officer stated as he approached the bars.

As he expected, there was no response. He gave a shrug and crouched, sliding the tray of food he carried through a slot just above the floor, and then looked back up. Tia was standing over him.

"Huh?"

Before he could say anything else, her hand shot through the bars and clamped onto his neck. Despite her vice-like grip choking the air out of him, the officer did his best to remain calm, reaching immediately for his Hunter. Tia pulled him forward into the bars just as he reached it. The first impact was enough to daze the officer, and by the third he had lost consciousness entirely. His Hunter fell from his hands and clattered on the floor.

Shifting her uninterested gaze from the man to the device, Tia tossed him aside and got down on the floor, reaching as far as she could to get a good hold on the Hunter. She then stood, brushed off her clothes, and slowly stepped away from the bars, the terminal already booted up. In a few flicks she was past the security, and then she set to work.

* * *

Sonia paced anxiously across the roof of the studio, constantly surveying the area for anything out of the ordinary. Since WAZA had successfully evacuated the facility, there was very little to see: the only movement that caught her eye was that of Geo and Ace, who waited a bit more patiently near the center of the roof. Ace had yet to Wave Change and was just standing around eating a candy bar; Geo, however, had already activated a Multi-Noise Change in preparation, his helmet having the familiar horns of Taurus but clad in the more vibrant colors of Crown. Sonia figured she should prepare as well, but she was more concerned at the possibility that she could miss something while transforming.

"Dear, stop for a moment," Lyra said. "You're only going to wear yourself out."

Sonia slowed, but she didn't stop. "He could show up from anywhere with that Noise Wave—we can't let him catch us by surprise!"

"It's possible. It's also possible that Dealer has kept an eye on the studio, sees that we've prepared for them, and called the operation off."

"Doubtful," Ace said. "King wants someone to play against. If anything, he's _more_ likely to attack now that we're onto him."

Sonia took another look around.

"…Thank you for the contribution, Ace," Lyra muttered.

Geo gave a concerned glance to Sonia. He looked off at nothing in particular for a few seconds, and then, with some reluctance, said, "Hey, Ace. If Joker used to work at WAZA, then you must know him, right?"

"Only a little," Ace said. "Even once I started working with Acid, I only met Joker a couple of times—he was never the most social guy there. Acid's the one who knows more about him."

The Wizard materialized then. "Why is it that you ask?"

"Well," Geo said, "I just want to try to understand him a little better. There might be some way to convince him to leave peacefully."

This time Sonia actually stopped. She stood there a moment, but then turned and walked back to where Geo and Ace were.

"Highly unlikely," Acid said. "Joker is single-minded in the pursuit of his goals. Once he decides to do something, there is rarely anything that can be done to sway him."

"Okay, but you say 'rarely'," Geo said. "There were times where he _was_ swayed?"

"Three incidents, the circumstances of which are classified."

"What? If there's something in there that can help—"

"I can share that the key factor in all three was the presence of Dr. Goodall. However, even if the doctor was here, I do not believe she would be able to change Joker's mind now."

"He listened to Dr. Goodall?" Sonia said. "But why? When we met him he was going on about how strength is all that matters, and Dr. Goodall…well…"

"Dr. Goodall is a unique case," Acid answered. "While Ace's classification of Joker as unsocial is accurate, the doctor and I are the two notable exceptions to that behavior. He spent a great deal of time with us, and seemed to enjoy our company."

Mega huffed, "Why anyone would enjoy _your_ company, I can't imagine."

"I see," Geo said. "If you spent that much time together, then you must have a pretty good idea of what Joker's like."

Acid looked aside. "In a sense…however, I am not able to comprehensively formulate the type of evaluation you are requesting. I was not programmed with a working understanding of emotions, and as a result, my inability to 'judge' people is perhaps my greatest shortcoming."

Geo leaned back slightly, saying, "Oh…I'm sorry. Why…why were you programmed like that?"

"Dr. Vega had a hand in programming Acid," Ace explained. "The idea of giving artificial Wizards full emotional intelligence was being hotly debated at the time, and she was dead-set against it. Said it would cause more harm than good to let them develop a strong attachment to something or someone—that it was programming that was impossible to execute correctly."

Sonia shifted her weight. "…I can see why she'd think that."

"But hey, Acid, you've grown a lot since then! When I first met you, you were straight-up robotic. Now we can actually have a proper conversation with each other!"

"I appreciate your encouragement, Ace, but there is no need for concern," Acid said. "I tend to agree with Dr. Vega's assessment, especially due to my assigned function of analysis. Emotions would only complicate my work."

Ace draped his arm over Acid's shoulders. "C'mon, buddy! You can analyze a situation and still have emotions every now and then! Developing an understanding of that would even let you to consider a whole new side of things—you were just saying you couldn't complete the evaluation Geo's asking about, right?"

"…You may have a point. However, it is much too late to rewrite my programming."

"Maybe so, but you're more than just programming. I'm positive you can learn!"

Sonia heard a sound and turned sharply. All she saw was a bird emerging from the trees. She let out a long sigh, and then glanced around the area again.

"So Acid," Geo said, "you're completely sure that there's no way to get through to Joker? Even if we could get Dr. Goodall to talk to him?"

Acid nodded. "He answered to her authority while he was at WAZA. She no longer has that power over him."

"I'm sure she still has _some_ power over him," Ace said. "After all, she is…"

He trailed off. Sonia stared at him for a moment before she remembered something. She opened her mouth to ask, but then she heard another sound, this one far more unusual. Looking past Ace, she saw a large distortion appear behind the studio—the very same kind she had seen at the school.

"He's here!" she said, getting ready to transform. "Let's roll!"

Dozens of cluster-like Noise Beasts began to pour from the opening. Geo armed his buster and said, "I'll draw their attention. You two flank them when you're ready!"

He leapt off the roof and opened fire. Ace took this moment to Wave Change, while Sonia engaged a Multi-Noise with the form of Ophiuca Noise and the colors of Cygnus. Sonia ran to the edge of the roof; she dropped to the ground, generating a gust of wind on contact to blow away some Noise Beasts, and then rushed in the direction of the distortion alongside Geo. More Noise Beasts popped out of it, but a salvo of bullets from Ace made quick work of them. Sonia and Geo lunged towards the opening. However, just as they were about to reach it, three forms emerged from its depths and pushed them back. A trio of beasts five times larger than average were circling the grounds when they regained their bearings.

"Seems they brought some heavy artillery," Lyra said. "I think we'll need to focus on this for now."

Sonia played her guitar furiously as she ran at one of the giant beasts. A small flock of duck-like creatures appeared around it, harassing the monster into staying still—taking careful aim, Sonia shot a dozen feather-shaped laser bullets at her target, causing it to shriek in pain and turn on her angrily. She kept her distance as it opened its mouth again: this time, orbs of Crimson came pouring out from its maw, pushing away the ducklings only to float about randomly. Not thinking much of it, Sonia hurled notes at it from where she stood, realizing a bit too late that the Crimson was shining brighter and brighter. She crossed her arms as the Noise clusters exploded, the force launching her several feet away before she skidded to a halt in the dirt.

"Should've guessed," she grumbled.

She sat up to see the beast charging at her. Rolling back, Sonia narrowly avoided its attack, and then spun on one foot to deal a powerful kick with the other. The beast rolled back, scattering a few of the remaining smaller ones in its wake, and Sonia took the opportunity to summon a few speakers nearby. As soon as it recovered, the beast spewed forth more Noise. Sonia made quick work of it with her additional notes, and then adjusted her guitar to fire quick blasts to keep the beast stunned as she closed in on it. She paused right in front of it and prepared to finish it off with a sound pulse. The beast's eyes flashed, so she jumped aside—a focused beam of Noise shot through the space where she had stood. Sonia put more distance between them, and the fight continued.

Meanwhile, Geo was using a wide flamethrower attack to destroy the Noise generated by the beast he was fighting, at the same time summoning half a dozen Stealth Fighter viruses to encircle it. They attacked just as it prepared to, leaving the beast stunned. Geo teleported forward and dealt a mighty, flaming uppercut, cleaving the creature in two.

"Nice one, kid!" Mega said. "Now, why don't we—"

"Hang on!" Geo said, leaping backwards. The two halves of the creature still squirmed about in the air, and soon a face appeared on each one.

"What, seriously?!"

Geo stepped carefully to dodge the lasers the beasts fired, and then teleported aside to avoid one as it charged at him. The second one, however, took him by surprise, pounding him into the dirt and cutting him with its teeth. He quickly grabbed the creature and electrocuted it, giving him time to slip away, and then located the other to see it opening wide; he raised his shield just in time to block a laser, and when he raised his buster in retaliation, three powerful fireballs shot out in rapid succession, obliterating chunks of the beast until it was no larger than the standard variety still floating about. Geo hoped to finish it off, but he had to abandon that as he dodged the remaining larger beast.

While the giant beasts were clearly the most dangerous threats, the smaller ones still remained, and for some reason the majority of them were swarming Ace. He was able to dispatch each one swiftly, but this left him distracted as the third enormous Noise Beast rampaged around him. Just as he obliterated a cloud of beasts with a swing of a large axe blade, twice as many appeared in their place, and now he could see the larger one starting to surround itself with Crimson bombs.

"We need to speed this up," he decided. "Acid, mind if we blow them away?"

"You may proceed," Acid said, "but remember why we are here, Ace. You must conserve some energy to fight Joker."

"Oh, I won't forget. Okay then!"

Ignoring the bites of the tiny creatures, Ace took a wide stance as the armor on his back shifted. Noise shot out from his fins to propel him forward and an incredible velocity, charging straight through the small beasts, the bombs, and fist-first directly into their larger companion, the explosive wake of his speed enough to dispel those he didn't make direct contact with. The Noise Beast bounced off of the studio wall and shook its head as if dizzy. Ace shot three bladed wheels at it, restricting its movements, and then aimed directly at the beast and fired a single powerful blast. The target slowly dispersed, and Ace used a Black Hole Battle Card to suck its remains into a small vortex.

"How we doing, Acid?" he asked.

"Stamina holding. However, it is recommended we engage quickly."

Ace turned to see Sonia and Geo finishing up their fights as well. Unfortunately, no one was particularly close to the Noise Wave entrance, and so no one could do anything as it opened wide once again. This time, only a single figure stepped through it—not a Noise Beast, but one who towered over them just the same.

As soon as she saw him, Sonia bristled in an instant. She turned and shouted, "There you are, Joker!"

The man regarded her coldly, his annoyed glare easily penetrating the sunglasses that covered his eyes. He swept the area with this glare, but when it settled on Ace, it took on a different quality as a smile came to his lips.

"Finally," Joker said. "It has been too long, brother! At last, Mr. King has granted me a second chance to save you!"

Ace kept a close eye on Joker as he, Sonia, and Geo regrouped. "Joker! You are under arrest! Come quietly, or we will not hesitate to subdue you by force!"

His words weren't entirely accurate. Geo said, "By force? But, he's…"

"Don't you remember what Solo said, kid?" Mega said. "He fought him without Wave Changing or anything. Doesn't sound like someone who'll bruise easily."

"I guess…but, still…"

Everyone tensed as Joker took a step forward. Holding out his arms, he called, "Acid, come with me! I have found a place where we can do what we were always meant to do, a place that will not deny us our purpose!"

"I have no desire to leave with you, Joker," Acid said. "As Ace has said, you are under arrest. Please come quietly."

Hearing this, Joker frowned. He clenched his fists and said, "Think, Acid: you can never truly be content while you are held down by WAZA's fears! Dealer will let you fulfill the absolute extent of your design—will let you keep the reason for which you and I live! Join me, brother! It is all we could ever want!"

Acid paused. "Interesting. You seem to be under the assumption that my desires align with your own. Tell me: is this the reason why you took a copy of my blueprints when you defected?"

Joker lowered his arms, hanging his head as a sad look came to his eye. "…It was the best I could do, at the time. I wanted to take you with me, but I knew that if I tried, those fools would use some trickery to disable us both, and we would only be reduced to even less than we already were. I had hoped Mr. King would rebuild you, that at least some version of you could live as you ought…but…"

Sonia smirked. "Weren't you just saying Dealer is everything you ever wanted? What happened to that?"

"Sonia," Geo said, giving her a look that made her feel awfully guilty.

"This does not concern you, girl," Joker said. "Acid, please. I can save you this time—the real you! I won't fail you again! Just come with me, and—"

"That's enough!" Ace interrupted. He flicked his blaster, extending a bayonet from it. "Acid's not going anywhere, Joker. Now for the last time: will you surrender or not?"

Joker scowled at him. "Surrender is for the weak, Arthur. I will not stoop to your level."

Ace lunged. Joker raised his forearm to meet the blade, blocking it entirely. Sonia and Geo stared on in disbelief. Ace was stunned as well, but quickly realized he should pull back—though not quickly enough to avoid Joker knocking the wind out of him with a punch to the gut. He dropped his gun as he collapsed to his knees.

"I _will_ save you, Acid," Joker said. As he spoke, a thin aura of blood-red light began to emanate from him. "I will restore you to who you truly are."

He grabbed Ace's head in his hand, lifting the man until his feet dangled inches above the ground. Ace screamed as Joker's aura moved to envelop him as well.

"P-Put him down!" Geo said, shakily aiming his buster. "Let Ace go, Joker!"

Joker ignored him, saying, "Wake up, Acid! Embrace your purpose, and become who you were made to be!"

"H…how…?" Acid gasped, his voice garbled and faint. "How are you…hacking my…A-Ace…it…hurts…"

Fury boiled up within Sonia. She stepped forward to attack, but when she tried to lift her guitar, she found she could not. Instead, she yelled, "Joker! If you want to help him, then you're doing a pretty poor job! Stop what you're doing and fight me!"

Ace's screams continued. Sonia decided to try to attack again, but that was when she noticed that Ace's armor was changing. Normally white and silver, his plating was now taking on shades of black and gray and green, while the red trim changed to a sicklier shade to match the light now enveloping him. For some reason, the sight filled her with an uneasy feeling.

"What's happening? Ace? Acid?"

All at once, Ace's screams stopped. Joker dropped him and he crumpled, resting on the ground with limp limbs and an empty look in his eyes. Sonia felt ice shoot through her veins.

"Acid?" Joker asked. "Can you hear me, brother?"

Ace didn't stir.

"You have all the Noise you need now. Finalize! Show the world who you truly are!"

Slowly, Ace looked up at him. Some relief came to Sonia. Joker, on the other hand, was looking very surprised.

Geo edged a bit closer. "…Ace…?"

In a flash, Ace shot to his feet and swung his hand, the blow colliding with the side of Joker's face and making him stumble back a bit. He then hunched over, letting his arms dangle in front of him, and, for some reason, made a hissing sound. For a very long second, no one even breathed.

"Wh…what have they done to you?!" Joker exclaimed. "They've put even more restrictions on you, haven't they—robbed you of every last bit of your true identity! How could they—"

He moved quickly, narrowly avoiding another swipe. His expression then turned to one of horror.

"…Was it…because of me? When I left, did they fear you might do the same…and so they did _this_ to you?"

Ace just hissed at him, already tensing for another strike. Joker dodged the attack when it came.

"…I'm sorry, brother," he said in a pained whisper. "I'm so, so sorry. If I had known they would do this to you…"

The entrance to the Noise Wave expanded. Ace shuffled back away from it, grabbing his head in both hands, and Joker reached for something in his coat. But then he stopped. With a heavy sigh, he instead turned to face the portal, taking one last look back at Ace.

"This is not over, Acid. I _will_ find a way to save you from this life. I promise."

He was gone then, and the portal vanished behind him. Ace hunched over again, twitching as he looked around, seemingly wondering where Joker went.

Sonia tentatively lowered her guitar, that sense of unease not yet abated. "Ace…?"

Ace whirled, as if he was just now realizing she was there. He hissed and took a step forward.

"Ace, it's me, Sonia! It's okay—Joker's gone!"

"What happened to him?" Geo asked.

"I don't know. Ace, you can still understand us, right?"

Ace looked down as he bumped into his gun. He stared at it curiously for a few seconds. Then, he picked it up, turned, and pointed it at Sonia.

"Ace?!"

She leapt away just in time. A blast went right past her, blowing a massive hole in the side of the studio. Ace snarled and ran at her.

"I don't think he's listening, dear!" Lyra said.

Sonia prepared to retaliate, but Geo knocked Ace out of his charge with a few weak buster shots. Ace spun to face him next, and the boy said, "Ace, Acid, snap out of it! We're not your enemies!"

Ace spread his arms wide. Twin laser beams shot from his shoulders, narrowly missing Geo as he teleported out of the way, but Ace kept firing, carving a trench through the studio grounds. Sonia brought her hand down on her guitar, sending out a huge gust of wind that interrupted Ace's attack and sent him rolling away.

"It…it looks like he can't hear us, Geo," Sonia said. "I think we need to hold him off!"

Ace came up on all fours and growled in her direction. Sonia pointed the head of her guitar, but then she noticed Ace's armor plates shifting. She fell to the side as Ace charged past—the Noise trailing in his wake left a cut in her arm. Ace turned around and raised his gun, but Geo popped up right in front of him and unleashed a flamethrower attack, pushing his foe backwards and giving Sonia time to recover.

"Come on, Ace!" Geo shouted. "You're in there somewhere, aren't you?!"

Ace responded by firing a shuriken from his blaster. The throwing star buried itself in Geo's shoulder, shocking him out of his Noise Change; Ace flung Geo back with a swipe, and Sonia shot a stream of feathers at him while he was open. She jumped high to avoid a wide wave of water, but landed hard when Ace used a series of rapid shots to shoot her down. Geo sprang back to his feet with teeth clenched. His arm transformed into a long spear that crackled with electricity, and he rushed Ace with it, stabbing him five times in the blink of an eye and leaving him stunned. Geo reared back as he prepared to follow up, but then he hesitated. Ace did not.

As Geo hit the ground again, Mega said, "What's wrong, kid? I know you don't like to fight, but we've gotta!"

"I know, but…it's Ace."

Ace swung his sword down, and Geo rolled out of the way.

"Okay," Mega said, "but you can't let that hold you back! Can't you just get mad at him or something?"

Geo glared at Ace as he avoided more attack. "Well yeah, after what happened with Pat…but…I don't want to fight him angry! This isn't his fault, and his Wave Change is already hard on his body. It isn't fair to make that worse just because I'm mad at him!"

Geo teleported behind Ace and made a few quick sword swipes, and then teleported away so Sonia could land a solid kick to his face. The blow didn't have much effect, however, and Ace slashed her midsection—shorting out her Noise Change—and then grabbed Sonia by the helmet and drove her into the ground.

"A…Ace!" Sonia said. "It's me, Sonia! You need to stop!"

She froze as Ace pointed his gun directly at her. Geo came charging in, tackling Ace and knocking the weapon from his hand, and Sonia quickly shot strings to restrain him. It seemed to work at first, but it wasn't long before he slowly began to free himself.

"He can't have much more time," Geo said.

"Are we even sure the timer's still active?" Sonia asked. "What if it got shut off when this went into effect?"

"We should decide swiftly," Lyra said. "I don't think _we_ have much more time either."

Ace snapped the strings and got to his feet, eyeing Sonia and Geo angrily. They both raised their weapons as he slowly walked towards them.

"We need to attack," Sonia said.

"They're about to separate," Geo said, "I'm sure of it."

Ace continued to advance. Sonia and Geo backed up, still looking ready to attack.

"Geo…"

"Just hold on!"

Ace slowly spread his arms. Sonia raised her hand, but Geo stopped her.

"Geo!"

She prepared to dodge as best she could. But the attack never came. Ace stumbled about, gripping his head tightly, and then reared back and screamed. In a flash, his Wave Change evaporated, and Acid materialized in the air next to him. It took a few seconds, but Sonia and Geo finally relaxed.

"…Good call," Sonia said. "Ace? Acid? Are you back to normal?"

They didn't answer. Both still had the same empty look in their eyes. The uneasy feeling came rushing back.

"…Guys?"

Acid hit the ground hard. A second later, Ace did the same. Sonia and Geo rushed over to them—Ace was still breathing, if only barely, but there wasn't really a way for them to check Acid's vitals.

"This is bad," Geo said. "We have to get them back to WAZA!"

Sonia took a quick glance around. "You take care of the rest of the Noise Beasts. I'll call HQ and tell them to send help!" Geo nodded and went off. Sonia put a hand to the side of her helmet as she established the connection. "Mr. Boreal! We need some help! Are you there?"

There was no response.

"Mr. Boreal? It's Sonia! We have an emergency!"

Still, nothing.

"…Mr. Boreal?"

The unease slowly turned to panic. Sonia looked from Ace, to Acid, to Geo, and then tried calling again. Still, she could not get through.

 _What do I do?_ she wondered. _What am I supposed to do?!_

* * *

Notes:

-It's 12/14 again, meaning another anniversary for Star Force plus one year since this story went live! I wanted to do an update for the occasion, but thankfully I was able to do one better and make this a double update! Feels like ending the year on a high note. There's a chance updates may slow again after this: I've been kicking around the idea of focusing on knocking out the remainder of my ZX fanfic in order to get that off my plate, and if I go ahead with that it will delay Red Joker just a bit. But if I do, then once it's done, I should be able to focus better and get RJ chapters out at a more consistent pace, so…I'm considering it. Whatever the case I sincerely hope it won't take another year to finish this story, ahah…er, anyway, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays and whatnot.

-I don't think SF3 ever really clarified how Jack and Tia escaped. Granted, there they were being held at some other facility in the background, but I still wanted to address it in some way. But that's the focus of next chapter!

-Any Noise Changes would've been fine here, but Sonia's going to hold onto Ophiuca for the time being to sort of remind herself that Luna's okay.

-While Joker still believes strength is absolute, I wanted to put a bit more focus on his relationships with Acid and Goodall. In Joker's eyes, Acid is not only his brother, but perhaps the only being as strong as him—the only person who is like him, the only person who can understand what it's like to be so powerful. He hates WAZA for limiting Acid the same way they tried to limit him, and wants to "free" his brother in a way that mirrors Ace's desire to free his adoptive siblings from Dealer. Obviously he and Acid don't actually see eye to eye, but he's in denial about this. As for Goodall, we'll get to that.

-Despite what they've heard from Solo, as far as Geo and Sonia know Joker is a human, so it's difficult for them to attack him. Though I suppose they didn't have the same reservations with Hollow? Well, they can clearly see Joker's human appearance, so maybe that's it?

-To find out what's going on at WAZA HQ, all you have to do is read the next chapter!


	24. Chapter 24

Copper quietly closed the door behind him and made his way across the lab. As expected, Vega was here: she stood in front of a tiny viewscreen attached to a large, box-shaped machine she had set on a desk, typing adjustments one at a time into the keyboard she had laid out. He waited a moment before clearing his throat. Vega's finger twitched to a halt mid-motion, and she gave a surprised look over her shoulder.

"Oh, detective—forgive me," Vega said, turning fully. "I was just doing some further study on the Crimson sample you brought back from Whazzap."

"Still at it?" Copper asked. "You've been studying Meteor G for so long now, I would've thought you'd run out of things to discover."

Vega gave a short laugh. "Hardly. We learned a great deal by interfacing with the Meteor Server, but that was remote, making it quite limited. The NCPs can generate some, but it doesn't last very long." She gestured to the machine as she continued, "This…a pure sample right in my hands…this is worlds beyond what we've had until now, and I've only just scratched the surface."

"I see," Copper said. He glanced about. "Where is Dr. Goodall?"

"She's lying down at the moment. She's been a bit more stressed these past few days, since…"

Copper nodded. "Understood."

"…Have you heard anything from Sonia yet?"

"Nothing. We could be waiting a while. Hard to be sure, really."

Vega's gaze drifted as she hummed to herself. Looking back to Copper, she asked, "Since Dr. Goodall is unavailable, is there something I might be able to assist you with?"

Copper scratched his head. "…Well, yeah, actually. I was wondering about something, and you two are really the only ones who can answer me."

"Oh? And what is it that you're wondering about?"

The detective hesitated. Eventually, he answered, "Wave Change-capable Wizards."

Vega frowned. "Oh."

"Look," Copper sighed, "speaking with Mr. Shepar got me thinking again, about having such young kids doing everything on our behalf. I just want to know if there's any way to change that."

"I understand your concern, detective, but I can say nothing you'll want to hear. Constructing a Wizard with that functionality takes a great deal of time and resources, neither of which we have in abundance right now—not to mention Mr. Boreal is a bit unlikely to approve of such a project given how our previous attempts turned out."

"What about modifying an existing Wizard? Would that take less time?"

The scientist paused, her eyes losing their focus as she ran the numbers in her head. "…That's an interesting idea, I'll admit. However, I'm afraid that without having ever attempted such a thing, I can't give a definite answer."

"But can we try?"

"There are quite a few obstacles. Mr. Boreal's approval, of course, not to mention a willing human participant—"

"Why do you think I'm asking?"

Vega glanced over Copper. "…Detective, if I may be a bit blunt…our incomplete Wave Change would destroy anyone's body, and for a man of your…well, I think it would destroy your body quite quickly."

"…Point taken," Copper mumbled, closing his eyes.

"And aside from that, we'd also need to find a Wizard. Or did you have someone in mind for that as well?"

"I was thinking about Magnes."

Vega raised an eyebrow. "Magnes? I doubt he would be excited by the prospect."

"Why not? He says that he's lost his purpose in life—this would be a way to give him a new one."

Turning around, Vega said, "I don't know…thrusting a new purpose upon him like that—do you think that's fair?"

"I'm not thrusting it upon him. I'm just saying we could offer."

"But he could be so desperate he could accept it without thinking it through. He could end up just drifting from one duty to the next, never truly doing what _he_ wants, just like Plesio."

Copper sighed. "I don't think he's in _that_ dire a state. Besides, Plesio is…adjusting. I'm sure we could give him a push without there being much of a problem either."

Vega fidgeted in her pockets.

"Alright. Well, if you could just give some thought to what I asked about, I would appreciate it. Do you know where Hyde is? He was supposed to report in for duty, but he's late."

"He is?" Vega asked, checking the clock. "That's unusual. Do you think something's happened to him?"

"Truthfully, I was expecting to find him here with you. But, you haven't seen him?"

"Not since this morning, no." She drew out her Hunter and tried to call Hyde. The window rang for a bit, but he did not pick up. Vega bit her lip. "…Usually he at least has Phantom pick up if he's busy…maybe something did happen…"

"Or Phantom's just being uncooperative. I'll keep looking around, and I'll let you know when I find him."

"Thank you," Vega said, already making another call.

Copper left the lab and made his way back up the hall. While he wouldn't say he was worried, he did find it a bit unusual that Hyde would ignore a call from Vega, and that did make him…curious. He kept his eyes peeled as he walked, and it was that alertness that allowed him to avoid bumping into Magnes as the Wizard rounded a corner.

"Oh, sorry about that," Magnes apologized.

"Nothing to worry about," Copper said. "What are you up to?"

"Huh? Nothing, really, just…talking a walk, I guess. I thought a change in scenery might be interesting."

"Hm…not much of a change, though."

Magnes stared at the floor. "Yup. But, if I'm going to be confined here, then I guess I need to take what I can get."

Copper thought for a moment, and then said, "Magnes, don't you think there are ways to enjoy your time here?"

"What do you mean? I don't belong here. I was programmed for—"

"I know, but that doesn't mean…" He paused and sighed. "Honestly, Magnes, I don't understand why you're so intent on limiting yourself to that. Wizards like you are the pinnacle of autonomous programming: you can choose to do whatever you want, even something other than what you were originally created to do, but you keep dismissing that idea outright."

Magnes shrugged. "I liked doing what I was created to do. I had a life that I loved, and it was all taken away from me."

"And I'm sorry that happened to you. But you can move beyond that, and start a new life, maybe one you'll love even more. You can't be sure unless you try."

The Wizard shook his head. "Well…I'm not really sure if I want to try."

Copper turned aside, running a hand over his face. As he tried to think of what else to say, he glanced down the hall, and he noticed light coming from a door that had been left ajar.

"…Pardon me," he said to Magnes.

He approached the door quietly. Crouching next to it, he leaned to take a look inside. The room was cramped and mostly dark, the light coming from a small terminal set in the far wall. A single Wizard floated before it: he was of a very simple design, the same kind used all over WAZA, and he typed furiously for a minute before leaning back and chuckling to himself. Copper carefully reached for his belt.

"What are you doing?"

He jumped as he turned to face Magnes, not realizing he had come up behind him. The Wizard inside the room turned around—cursing silently, Copper barged through the door and drew his weapon, pointing it straight at him. "Hold it right there!"

The Wizard sneered. Slowly raising his hands, he said, "What is it, detective? I must say, you seem rather threatening."

"Tell me what it is you're doing," Copper ordered.

"I was just running a diagnostic on this terminal."

"On whose orders?"

"On Dr. Goodall's."

"Really? Because Dr. Vega just informed me that Dr. Goodall is resting right now."

The Wizard didn't answer. Copper then noticed a Hunter lying on a desk.

"What's that?"

The Wizard's eyes immediately shot to the device, then back up. "What's what?"

"Don't play stupid."

"Oh, you mean the Hunter? Well, it's a Hunter, obviously. What else would it be?"

"What's it doing here?"

"It's…part of the diagnostic."

Copper waved his weapon. "Step aside."

The Wizard nodded. He floated a short distance to the side, so Copper stepped farther into the room. Suddenly, the Wizard grabbed his chest plate with both hands—Copper prepared to fire, but when he saw the Wizard prying himself open he stopped. Something was hidden in a small compartment inside the program, and he wasn't sure what it was.

"At least I managed to get everything ready," the Wizard said. "You should've gotten here sooner, detective!"

A flash from the terminal illuminated the Wizard, allowing Copper to identify the item he contained. It was a card bearing the image of a Coin. He fired, but Noise enveloped the Wizard faster than he could pull the trigger, and the dense EM waves absorbed the shot. Taking a step back, Copper turned to a frightened Magnes and shouted, "Go! Get help!"

He looked back as the Wizard finished his transformation. His large, humanoid frame was lined in gold-plated armor, all but his eyes obscured by both his collar and the rounded helmet that sat atop his head. Copper fired more shots, but they bounced harmlessly off their target as he created a large pickaxe in one hand.

"W-What's going on?" Magnes asked.

"I told you to go!" Copper said, shoving the Wizard back. "Find someone who—"

Some massive object impacted them both, cutting him off and sending them clattering to the floor. When his wits returned to him, he saw a large rock lying not far away, and the Dealer Wizard was currently swinging his pick at the terminal. Sparks erupted from the screen, and the halls turned red as an alarm sounded.

"You know, I'm actually a little glad you showed up," he said as he stepped out of the room. "I can't deal with you as quietly as that showboating screenwriter, so now going back to my typical boring role is out of the question."

Copper struggled to his feet. "I should have figured that Dealer's spy would be as inconspicuous as possible."

The Wizard shrugged. "Wouldn't have helped. Normally even _I_ don't know I'm a spy, not until I get activated by the higher-ups. Let's me mine as much data as I need without raising any suspicion."

Magnes was getting up now. Keeping himself between the two Wizards, Copper said, "I have to admit, that's a good strategy. So who activated you this time? And what is it you're trying to accomplish?"

The Wizard struck the floor with his pick; in the next second, a wall had formed behind Copper and Magnes, trapping them in the hallway. He then rested the weapon on his shoulder and said, "No need to worry about that."

Copper reached back, determining how much space was between him and the wall. Turning slightly towards Magnes, he whispered, "Magnes. I'll distract him, but I need you to get past him into that room."

Magnes jumped. "What?!"

"Shh! Just get the Hunter, okay? Can you do that?"

More quietly, Magnes said, "I…I guess, but—"

The spy raised his pickaxe, and Copper threw himself forward. He managed to grab the handle of the pick and push it aside, which surprised the spy a little; with a bit of hesitation, Magnes took the opportunity to run at the room. Seeing this, the spy reached towards the door, but Copper anticipated this: he jumped and grabbed onto the spy's armor, and then jammed his weapon into the opening beneath his helmet and fired point-blank. Unfortunately, when the spy stumbled, he wound up right in Magnes's path. Magnes shrieked and backed away. The spy grabbed Copper and tossed him aside, and then swung his pickaxe through the doorway to create a pile of rubble that almost totally blocked it off.

"Huh…not bad," the spy said. "But you don't have the firepower to stop me!"

His pickaxe struck the floor again. This time, a burst of hot magma erupted up and surged forward, opening a fissure as it traveled and knocking Magnes against the wall. Copper kept his guard up as the spy faced him, but he knew there was little he could hope to do.

"You there!"

The spy rotated. Down the hallway stood Dr. Vega, holding something behind her back and pointing right at him with her free hand. With a laugh, he said, "What do you want?"

Vega narrowed her eyes at him. "You've done something to Hyde, haven't you? I demand he be returned unharmed!"

"And why would I do that?"

"Because I have something you want as well." Vega pulled her arm from behind her back, revealing that she held a small container with a sample of Crimson in it. "Whatever it is you're doing, losing a spy here will be quite the loss to Dealer. Perhaps your superior will be less upset if you manage to bring some Crimson back with you?"

Copper eyed the container—it was only a fraction of what they had brought back, but he hoped the spy didn't know that. The corrupted Wizard said nothing at first, but then suddenly grabbed Copper by the collar and hoisted him into the air.

"How about this. You give me that Noise, and I'll let this guy go."

"No," Vega said. "The deal is for Hyde."

The spy pressed his pick against Copper's neck. "Really? You don't care about this one?"

"Not especially, no."

Copper grunted. _I'm touched._

"…Okay then," the spy said. "If you care so much about Mr. Dramatic, I'll tell you where he is. But you're going to give me that Crimson first—and if you try anything funny, I'm going to tear this guy open, and I bet _your_ superiors won't be very thrilled about that."

Vega pursed her lips. "…Very well."

The spy slowly made his way down the hall, still carrying Copper in one hand. He and Vega watched each other carefully as they approached, each waiting to see if the other was going to try anything, but soon they were only a step away and the spy came to a stop. Reaching out slowly, he dropped Copper and snatched up the Crimson. He took a few steps back to examine it, and then looked back at Vega, chuckling quietly.

"Now," Vega said, "where is Mr. Hyde?"

The spy raised his pickaxe. "Nah, I changed my mind."

Vega snapped her fingers. Instantly, the Crimson exploded, shattering its container and driving shards of itself into the spy's shoulder and along the side of his face. He screamed and threw himself against the wall—Vega grabbed Copper's arm and pulled him behind her as they skirted the spy and headed back the way he had come.

"I trust you've already deduced my assistant's location?" Vega asked.

"Well, I've got an idea," Copper said as he looked up ahead.

The spy had recovered now, and turned to glare at his escaping foes. Past them, however, he saw Magnes standing next to the entrance he had destroyed, arms outstretched and glowing as he magnetically pulled the Hunter through the air towards him. The spy shouted and raised his axe again, but again Vega snapped, and the remaining shards of Crimson burst into even tinier bits. Magnes plucked the Hunter from the air just as Vega and Copper caught up to him, at which point they took him by the arms and rushed him around the corner.

"Nice job!" Copper said as he took the device.

"Th…thanks," Magnes said. "But, why do we need that?"

"He obviously didn't want us to have it. And since he mentioned an easy way of dealing with Hyde, I figured he probably meant—"

A tremor rocked the building. Suddenly, the walls around them shifted, cutting off their path ahead and also giving them a straight line of sight to where the spy stood. He raised his open hand, and what appeared to be a bundle of dynamite appeared between his fingers.

"Detective!" Vega shouted.

Copper dashed the Hunter against the floor, breaking it into nearly a dozen pieces. A bright flash of light followed and then, the next thing they knew, Hyde was standing there, Wave Changed and looking very disoriented.

"Urgh," he groaned, "truly an atrocious experience…I've got a nasty review for whoever directed that one."

Vega's face lit up. "Hyde—you're alright!"

Turning sharply, Hyde said, "Ah? Oh, Lady Vega! Have I you to thank for—"

Copper spun Hyde around and pointed at the spy, who was already preparing his throw. "Focus!"

The fuse on the dynamite became lit as it soared through the air. Hyde swung his cane and a portion of the wall went dark. Soon enough, a shadowy hand emerged from it and caught the dynamite, the explosion consuming the appendage but not reaching far enough to harm Hyde or his companions. When the smoke cleared, Hyde straightened his hat and glared at their foe.

"So this is your true form, eh?" he mused. "Well I have to call you something, but a simple being demands a simple name…thus I think 'Gold Miner' suits you nicely."

The spy struck the floor to create another magma fissure as Hyde knocked out a wall. Vega, Copper, and Magnes made their escape through the opening, meanwhile Hyde carefully dodged the wave of flame and went to make his counterattack. They weren't far before Vega looked back.

"Should we really leave him on his own?" she asked.

"There's nothing else we can do," Copper said. "I can't do much more than distract him, and Magnes isn't built for combat."

"Up ahead is a weapons lab—we should search for something useful there!"

Copper hesitated.

"I thought you were eager to join to the fight, detective?"

"Fine, we'll check. But there'd better be something good!"

They ran up to the door and waited as Vega threw it open. She took one step inside, and then she froze up. Copper stepped in behind her and immediately saw why. On the far side of the room stood Jack and Tia, pendants in hand; Jack turned at their entrance, but Tia did not, for she was too busy pointing a weapon directly at Plesio.

"Great, more of 'em," Jack said. "Sis, let's hurry and get out of here!"

Tia did not answer, keeping her dull gaze locked on Plesio's equally dead eyes. She heard Copper take a step forward, so she did the same. Copper didn't move again.

"So it was you," Vega said. "You activated the spy to help you escape!"

"Plesio," Copper said, "are you alright?"

Plesio turned to look at him. "…I guess."

Copper nodded, and then turned back to Tia. "This has gone far enough, you two. Put down the weapon and come with me."

"Why the hell would we do that?" Jack asked. "You're in no position to order us around, old man."

"Stop this at once!" Vega said. "Why do you seek to continue this battle? What does Dealer offer you—why would you want to go back there?"

"Who said we're going back to Dealer? We're done with that idiot King, just as soon as—"

"Jack," Tia interrupted.

"Er…right."

"We are leaving," Tia said, now addressing Copper and Vega. "If you attempt to stop us, this Wizard will be terminated."

Plesio turned back to look at her. Vega said, "Why? What would you gain from hurting him? He's done nothing to you!"

Jack glanced at Plesio, and the PM-ian met his gaze. The boy shifted uncomfortably.

"You can't be so cruel you would harm an innocent bystander just to—"

"Doctor," Copper interrupted. "…Let's not antagonize them."

Slowly, Vega nodded. Tia raised her pendant, and it emitted a red flash: a Noise Wave entrance appeared behind her, and she tapped Jack's shoulder as she slowly backed towards it. Jack's eyes lingered on Plesio for a moment, but then he jumped through the portal, and in a few seconds Tia was through it as well. It snapped shut before anyone could even think of following them. Vega and Copper both let out the breath they had been holding.

Plesio turned to face them. "Why did you let them escape?"

Copper gave him a troubled look. "What? Plesio, if we did anything they were going to delete you."

"So? They're more useful to you than I am. You just let your only prisoners get away."

Copper shook his head, walking over to the side of the room. "No prisoner is worth letting someone die. It doesn't matter how 'useful' you think you are, Plesio: we value your life. We're not going to let anyone harm you. Now, get somewhere safe—we've still got a threat to deal with."

Plesio watched silently as Vega approached a terminal. "We can talk about those two later. For now, see if you can find something to help Hyde!"

After a few more seconds, Plesio made his way over to Magnes, asking, "What's going on?"

"Mr. Hyde is fighting someone who looks pretty tough right now," Magnes answered. "He might be okay, but they want to make sure he'll win."

"Hyde? Copper doesn't like him. Why does he want to help him?"

"Well…uh…I don't know. I guess it's like he said: he just doesn't want to let someone die."

"Even Hyde?"

Magnes could only give a nod. Plesio turned to look at Copper as he frantically surveyed several half-completed weapons.

"Shoot," Vega said, "he's completely reformatted the system! Everything's scrambled: archives, comms, I think that alarm is the only thing that's actually working!"

"See what you can do to unscramble it," Copper said as he picked up a small cannon. "This one looks like our best bet. I'm going to go give it a try!"

He turned towards the door, but Plesio was in his way. "Isn't it dangerous?"

Copper sighed. "Yes, it is."

Plesio tilted his head. "…You could die, couldn't you?"

"I could. Please, I need to get past."

"…I…don't want you to die," Plesio said.

Copper didn't know what to say. He struggled to think of something, but he stopped when Plesio came forward and nudged his Hunter.

"You won't die if I help you."

"…I appreciate that, Plesio," Copper said. "But are you really sure that's what you want?"

Plesio paused for a second. Then, he nodded, and said, "Yes. It is."

Despite the situation, Copper smiled at him. Setting the cannon down, he drew his Hunter and said, "Alright. Let's go—I'll register a Transcode on the way."

He and Plesio left the room, with Magnes gradually making his way over to Vega's side. It wasn't long before they made it to the area where Hyde and Miner were fighting, although it looked a bit different than Copper had left it, more like an arena of sorts. Hyde and a few illusory copies of him were circling around the spy, but he seemed quite unconcerned. When Hyde attacked with his cane it didn't even scratch Miner's armor. Miner responded with a powerful swing of his pick that sent Hyde skidding backwards.

"Are you ready, Plesio?" Copper asked. The PM-ian nodded, so Copper raised his Hunter. "Transcode 015: Plesio Surf!"

The resulting fusion was very similar to Plesio in shape, with a mostly orange body that had a few narrow lines of tan running from one end to the other and a dark blue crystal on either side. The long neck was orange on top, tan on the bottom, with a thin layer of black to separate them, and this pattern continued all the way down the long snout, broken only by massive green eyes and a blue crystal that sat atop the head on a small antenna. Copper wasted no time getting used to his new form: he immediately lunged at the surprised Miner and snapped his jaws shut around him. The spy shouted, but quickly dug his pick into the side of Copper's face to free himself.

"Detective?" Hyde called. "I must say, this is something of a shocking twist."

"Can it!" Copper said as he pulled back. "We've got bigger things to worry about!"

"Or perhaps, bigger fish to fry?"

Miner growled at them. "Back-up, huh? That won't save you. I'll bring this whole building down to mark your grave!"

He formed a boulder in his hand and hurled it as he advanced. Copper smacked the floor: a tidal wave sprung up to intercept the rock, but Miner maintained his footing, and the detective found himself feeling a bit drained.

"You're not used to that," Plesio noted.

Hyde seized the opportunity. He moved right in front of Miner and struck him with his cane, the soaked Wizard being stunned by the surge of electricity, and then kicked up a shockwave to batter his foe as he pulled back again.

"But it worked," Phantom said. "Continue using that! We'll keep him stunned and make quick work of him!"

"No," Plesio said.

"What?! You, of all people, are questioning my plan?"

"Copper can't keep using that. We're going to submerge."

"We can do that?" Copper asked. The crystals along his body lit up, and suddenly he sank into the floor like it was water, only his head staying above the surface.

"Stay alert."

Miner had hurled a bundle of dynamite their way. Copper withdrew his head to avoid the explosion, while Hyde teleported away and threw his hat to little effect. When Copper resurfaced he snapped at Miner again, but that was when his helmet suddenly grew into a massive dome around him, completely shielding him from the attack. Hitting the barrier sent the detective reeling, giving Miner a chance to sweep him away with a magma fissure when he emerged. Miner was quick to raise his pick again, but a shadowy hand came from the floor behind him, grabbing the weapon and trying to wrest it away from him.

"Do it now!" Phantom shouted. "Douse him again, Plesio!"

"Shoot him," Plesio said.

Copper opened his mouth and fired a focused blast of lightning. Miner saw it coming and ducked, hurling another boulder to force Copper back under. Hyde swept in while he was distracted, but he did little damage before Miner ripped his pick free and rammed it into Hyde's gut.

"Obey my plan!" Phantom said. "Know your place, Plesio!"

Copper resurfaced. Miner opened another magma fissure, but this time a small whirlpool appeared in its path, creating a thick veil of steam that obscured Copper from view. The next electric blast hit Miner dead in the chest.

"D…damn it," Miner grunted. "Where are you?"

He looked around frantically, but there was no indication of where Copper was hiding. Hyde, however, still lay at his feet.

"…Well then…if you're gonna be a coward!"

He brought his pickaxe down on the man. It passed right through him. The next thing Miner knew, he felt a sharp pain in his side, and realized Hyde was there, jamming his cane into a hole left by Copper's bite.

"So sorry," Hyde said, "had to call in a stunt double on that one."

Miner swung his arm to fend Hyde off, and then turned his helmet into a dome again to prevent Copper from taking advantage of the opening. Mumbling to himself, he formed a bundle of dynamite in his hands and took a moment to listen: he could hear someone not far away. Lighting the dynamite, he readied to dismiss his barrier and immediately throw. That was when he noticed the ripples beneath him.

"Wh—"

Copper's jaws rose up from the floor and snapped around him. He didn't stay long, however, leaving Miner alone and writhing as he tried to get back on his feet. As he turned, he realized that the dynamite's fuse was still burning.

"Oh—"

The explosion was contained by the helmet, which faded away soon after. Copper and Hyde came forward to examine Miner, who lay battered on the floor before them, in too much pain to move.

"I'd say that's a wrap," Hyde declared. "So then, how shall we take this fellow into custody, my dear detective?"

"Heh," Miner grunted. "Screw you…you're not getting anything from me…"

"Oh I'm sure we can find some way to make you talk. But let's save that for another time, shall we?"

Miner chuckled. Suddenly, his body began to glow with red light—Copper and Hyde backed away as he became enveloped in a ball of Noise that shrunk rapidly, growing smaller and smaller until it totally faded from view. The two of them stared on in disbelief.

"Typical spy tactics, I suppose," Hyde said. "Thank you for your assistance Mr. Copper, and you as well Plesio. Defeating him by myself would no doubt have taken quite a lot more time."

"If it happened at all," Copper huffed.

"It would have!" Phantom insisted. "I am a tactical genius—I would most certainly have discovered a way of winning without your help!"

"Your plans don't work," Plesio said flatly. "That's why I ignored them."

"How dare you!"

"Anyway," Copper interrupted, "we should evacuate anyone who's still in the building. There's no telling how much structural damage has been caused by all this shifting ground."

"That makes sense," Hyde said. "I assume Lady Vega is still nearby?"

"In the lab down the hall. And once she's out, do come back and help some other people, will you?"

"Of course, of course."

As they went their separate ways, Copper said, "We're really in your debt, Plesio. Thank you for helping out today."

"Sure," Plesio said. "It was…kind of nice. To be able to help out a little more." He took a very long pause. "Maybe I'd like to keep helping out."

Copper smiled. "We'll take you up on that."

* * *

King shuffled the cards in his hand, glaring at nothing in particular as he did. Heartless approached him nonetheless, saying, "Sir, I regret to inform you that Corvus and Virgo are nowhere to be found. It appears they may have departed to rendezvous with Jack and Tia."

The cards stopped moving. King set the deck down and massaged his temple, saying, "I did not grant them permission to activate our spy. Now we lack accurate information on WAZA's strategy, and I've nothing to show for it. Those rebellious, selfish brats…"

He exhaled sharply, and then spun his chair around. Joker stood not far away, staring down at the floor.

"Oh well. This is why you are my favorite, Joker! Even when things did not go your way, even though you felt an urge to strike out on your own, you did not! You followed your orders and returned home."

"I did my best, Mr. King," Joker said. "I was sure to discreetly gather up all the Crimson before WAZA could interfere. We are now much closer to our goal."

King folded his hands. "Yes, yes…though still quite far off. We need to put together a plan for accumulating the real jackpot."

Joker looked up. "…Mr. King. If we are this close, then perhaps it is time for us to cease holding back."

"Oh?" King said, leaning forward.

"We still have a small army of Wizards and Noise Beasts. Why not simply unleash them all? All for one final, immense harvest of Crimson that will make your goal a reality at last. Haven't you waited long enough?"

King stroked his chin. "Hm…I suspect you wish to use this as another chance to get through to your brother, don't you?"

Joker looked aside.

"Hoho, yet I must say, it is an intriguing proposal. And I do find myself growing rather impatient after all this time…" He picked up his deck of cards. "Come here, my boy."

Joker approached King's chair. The leader of Dealer shuffled his deck, and then he dealt Joker a hand of cards.

"We'll settle this in a game. If I win, we'll take a moment to wait before I decide what will be done. But if you win…then I'll marshal the forces for this final battle of yours."

With a grin, Joker picked up the cards. "Thank you for the opportunity, Mr. King. I knew remaining loyal to you was the right choice."

* * *

Notes:

-This is the point of the story that I'm expanding a bit, which is why I decided to bring in the Latin card suites in the first place. As a refresher: it's Clubs (a redundancy), Swords (used on standard Noised Wizards), Coins (used here), and Cups (coming soon). Since using "Coin" as a title didn't sound very intimidating, I quickly decided to use "Gold" as an alternative, and after some debate I decided to use it for a Dealer spy to link together a few dangling points like the attack on WAZA and Jack and Tia's escape. It wasn't long before I realized I could work a "data miner" pun into this, which led me to work him into a Met reference—I even considered calling him Gold Met, but that seemed a bit too…standard, I guess? The pick and indestructible helmet stuck, though, and he can even throw things in a Super Arm-like fashion. He's also a Heat Element boss, since it has always bugged me that the early game suite bosses cover the other three elements but not that one. I almost wanted to use a Heart Noise Card to really line everything up, but since we already have Heartless that would just clash a little. Oh well.

-If it isn't apparent, Miner trapped Hyde and Phantom using the same program Boreal used to trap Gemini. Since he's constantly surrounded by Wave Change users, he acquired that as a failsafe in case one of them tried to intercept him—and it came in handy.

-Tia vs Plesio is the ultimate staring contest.

-I always wanted to bring back every possible Wave Change for this story, but Plesio proved difficult to justify. At first I was going to have Romero back in the story, probably working at WBG Studios, and have him reconnect with Plesio—but really, I'm not sure Romero would want that. So Plesio was just kind of without a designated partner as I went into this story, but then I remembered Copper would probably like to help out in the fight if he could, and with a little extra background between them it wouldn't be hard to have Plesio take a liking to him and finally make a decision of his own. The new Plesio Surf isn't very different, just a few changes to his patterns, but at the last second I realized I could change the crystal on top of his head to resemble Copper's antenna, and I thought that would be a funny detail to add. Being able to "swim" through solids is a new ability for him (but it gradually uses up his energy), and he can also create whirlpools and eventually waterspouts. All the PM-ians have a partner now!

-I guess that's reason enough to throw in this bit of trivia: I briefly considered having Vega rebuild Hollow as a Wizard she could Wave Change with, but ultimately I don't think recreating Hollow is something she'd ever want to do. Shame, I do think it could've been neat…

-The next major beat in SF3 after this is storming Dealer HQ, but first our heroes need to find their way there. Can't say for sure how long it'll take, but we are approaching that battle now, and it's going to be quite the event!

-Thanks to everyone who's stuck with the story. I didn't expect it would take me this long to write it, but rest assured I'm going to see it through to the end barring some unforeseen catastrophe happening. I won't set a timetable because that hasn't been going well, but we are close, and barring a bit of connective tissue I've got a gameplan from here to the finale. I hope you'll bear with me until then!


	25. Chapter 25

Walking down the halls of AMAKEN was nostalgic for Sonia. She just wished it could've been under better circumstances.

It had taken a long time to get in touch with WAZA, which she then found out was due to a Dealer spy crippling their network—even once that was dealt with, everyone had been so busy evacuating the damaged headquarters that it had taken even longer for someone to arrive on-scene to retrieve Ace and Acid. She and Geo were given some instructions on how to stabilize them both, and luckily it had worked well enough. Ace had been taken to a hospital nearby, meanwhile the majority of WAZA's personnel regrouped here at AMAKEN, save a select team who stayed behind to guard equipment and data that hadn't been safely moved yet, and Acid had been brought in to be repaired by Goodall and Vega.

Sonia entered a lab to find the both of them, as well as Boreal and Dubius, gathered around a computer screen. After a small pause, she came over to join them.

"How's Acid?" she asked.

"He'll be alright," Goodall said. "There wasn't really all that much damage done to him. I've got him straightened out—he just needs a bit more time to rest."

Sonia nodded. Turning to Dubius, she said, "Thanks for letting us come here, Mr. Dubius. I really appreciate it."

Nodding, he said, "No problem at all. I'm more than happy to help out."

Then facing Boreal, Sonia asked, "…Any word on Ace?"

"He's stable," Boreal said. "They say he should wake up soon, and then it's just a matter of getting him to rest until he's fully healed. That's probably what's going to be the hard part."

Sonia hummed to herself.

"Sonia, can you go over what happened again? Just in case we missed something."

"Uh, sure. When the Noise Wave opened, it spat out a bunch of those Noise Beasts, so we had to focus on fighting those first. We tried to get into the Wave when we had a chance, but then…Joker showed up…" She clenched and unclenched her fist. "We tried…well, really, _he_ was trying to talk to Acid. He was saying that Dealer would give them the freedom they wanted, and that he wouldn't have to…be denied his purpose, or something like that? I wasn't really sure what he was talking about. Ace charged at him, but his attack did nothing. Joker just grabbed him and started pumping Noise into him. Then he left, and…Ace just went berserk. He didn't say anything—I don't think he could even understand us. He just kept attacking, until the limiter activated and broke his Wave Change."

Vega put a hand to her chin. "And you said his armor turned black? It sounds as though Joker was trying to force him to Finalize…"

"Yeah, I think he did say that."

"Goodness…I didn't think our restrictions would cause _that_ to happen…"

"He shouldn't have been able to hack the Ace Program to begin with," Goodall said. "King must've made some nasty adjustments to the Joker Program."

"Sonia, you'll need to be extra careful," Boreal said. "Both you and Geo: the second generation Noise Control Programs should have better security, but Joker might still try to hack them and overwhelm you with Noise."

Sonia shuddered. "So…we could go berserk too?"

Boreal glanced to Vega. She answered, "…Only if you aren't able to retain control over the Finalization process. Acid has been modified explicitly to make that impossible, which is most likely why he became temporarily corrupted by the Noise."

"Okay, but…what _is_ Finalization?"

"It's a type of Noise Change," Goodall said. "A very powerful, very dangerous one that calls upon files from deep inside the Meteor Server to supercharge its user. Acid used to be able to do it, but after…after Joker left…"

She trailed off. Boreal picked up, "When Joker left, concerns arose over the possibility of Acid doing the same thing. So I ordered Acid's abilities to be limited. That way, if he did betray us—"

"He wouldn't betray us," Vega interrupted. "He's not capable of being lured away with false promises, not without emotions. It was unnecessary, and it was those very modifications that led to this fiasco."

Boreal narrowed his eyes a bit. "Might I remind you, doctor, Acid always had trouble controlling himself when Finalized. If he hadn't been modified, and Joker had forced him to Finalize, he may have still gone berserk…and a properly Finalized Acid would have done much, much more damage."

Vega looked away. Sonia glanced at Goodall, who sat staring at the floor with a sad, distant look in her eyes. Clearing her throat, Sonia said, "Dr. Goodall…I'd hate to pry, but I've been wondering something."

Looking up, the doctor said, "Oh? What is it, Sonia?"

She hesitated a bit. "…Are you…Joker's mother?"

Goodall stared at her for a moment. Then, the sad look came back to her eyes, and she chuckled once. "Well…in a way. He certainly always thought of me as such." She turned around, facing the screen again. "…There's no reason to be coy about it now. Sonia, the truth is that Joker is not a human. He is a Wizard. One that I was responsible for programming."

Sonia blinked, wondering if she had misheard the doctor. "…What? But…he…"

"Looks human? Yes, that was the intention." Goodall tapped her fingers against the desk. "You might have already heard—when we were creating Wizards, there was some disagreement over whether to give them emotions or not. Veggie here was dead set against it, but me, I was all for it. We could never quite agree, so when the time came to create Wave Change-capable Wizards to use the Noise Control Programs, we compromised: Veggie could program Acid however she liked, while I took the lead in programming Joker."

Sonia furrowed her brow as she tried to make sense of it. "Okay, but…emotions are one thing. Why make him look just like a human?"

Goodall gazed up at the ceiling. "I wanted Wizards to be able to integrate into society as seamlessly as possible, to be treated just the same as people. It wouldn't be enough to make them the same underneath—humans can be so petty when it comes to appearances, surface differences. So I thought the best way for Joker to be treated like a human was to make him indistinguishable from one." She shook her head. "Hah! Or, maybe I got a little carried away and just wanted to play God? Lord knows it wouldn't be the first time…"

Sonia glanced over the doctors. "…Okay. Whatever the reason…why am I only being told this _now_? Geo and I both hesitated out there because we didn't want to hurt an unarmed human! If we'd known he was a Wizard—that he was capable of taking a few hits—then we might've been able to stop him from screwing up Ace and Acid!"

"To be fair, dear," Lyra said, "Mega did point out he defeated Solo. We already knew he could take a few hits."

Sonia looked off into a distant corner of the room. Goodall glanced over her shoulder and said, "Well, regardless…the main reason we don't talk much about Joker is just down to the fact that I'm embarrassed over the whole ordeal, and no one wants to remind me of it. Even I've done what I can to try not to talk about him. I know it's not a good enough reason, not by a long shot…but what's done is done. I'm sorry, Sonia."

Sonia stared at her. Eventually, she took a deep breath, put both hands over her face, and just laughed. "Okay! So!" Counting on her fingers, she went on, "Ace was raised by Dealer before defecting to our side, there's a gigantic meteor made entirely of Noise headed for Planet Earth, and Joker is actually a Wizard made at WAZA. While we're here, is there _anything else_ I should know?! _Anything at all_ that could be helpful?! Because to be honest, I'm getting _really_ tired of surprises!"

Boreal quietly said, "I can't think of anything."

"Well if you do, _please_ let me know!" And with that, she stormed out. She made her way through the lobby, ignoring everyone she passed, and out onto the grounds to find some place where she could be alone. When she finally sat down on a nearby hill, she buried her face in her arms and screamed.

"This revelation explains a few things," commented Lyra, who materialized next to her. "We should have a much better understanding of Joker now."

Sonia glared at her. "Who cares?! All that's important is that I beat him, and you were right: I already knew everything I needed to do that! Next time, I'm not going to let him get away!"

Lyra stared at her. "…Sonia…are you listening to yourself?"

With a sigh, Sonia faced forward.

"Dear, this isn't like you at all. Normally you'd be doing whatever you could to understand your opponent, trying to find some way to talk them out of what they're doing. We finally have a real chance to do that with Joker. Don't you want to take it?"

Sonia leaned into her arms again. "…No. I don't think I do."

"…My," Lyra said. "You really hate Joker, don't you?"

Sonia just hid her face.

"Is it because of what he did to Luna?"

"Of course!" Sonia said. "He tried to kill her, Lyra! I thought he did! And he had no reason at all!"

"He had his own reason, it—"

"No _good_ reason! And even if it hadn't been Luna, even if he had only killed Strong, I'd still hate him! You know how I feel about killing, Lyra. Why…" She took a moment to breathe, and then, more quietly, finished, "Why shouldn't I hate a killer?"

A very long pause followed. Eventually, Lyra looked at the ground and sighed. "Sonia…there's a conversation I've long dreaded having with you. I'd hoped to avoid it, but now I think perhaps we need to have it."

She shifted a little. "…What's that?"

"The FM-ians, for the longest time, were a warrior race. We thrived by attacking and destroying other planets." Lyra paused. "Dear…do you really think that none of us have killed people?"

Sonia slowly looked up.

"I had my suspicions you hadn't thought about it, and I suppose I was too afraid to ask. But, Sonia…we have. _I_ have."

The girl remained frozen in place.

"I wouldn't now, of course. I realize that it was wrong, and I regret it. All of it. I think that's how a lot of us feel now, because we've been able to change for the better. We were able to do that because you were willing to show us compassion, and believe that we _could_ change—you said you wanted to help us to do it, if you could. And you did."

Lyra's gaze fell.

"And of course…that doesn't make my mistakes any less terrible. If there is something in this universe that will judge me, I wouldn't be at all surprised to find out I've already been condemned." Looking back up, she went on, "Still…even still, I truly want to behave differently going forward, simply for the sake of doing so. And that's not something I ever expected to feel."

She turned back to Sonia. She wouldn't face her.

"I won't tell you how to feel towards Joker, dear. I find his actions quite deplorable myself. But you _have_ been able to change those who have killed, and prevented them from killing more. So I suppose the real question is…do you still believe that all people have the ability to change?"

Sonia said nothing.

"…You don't have to answer now. I just felt this was something you should consider. I'm worried about you, Sonia. I've never seen you like this, and I've no idea how it might change you. But, if you're content with that, then I won't pretend it's my place to stop you. It's your decision. But please…all I ask is that you take some more time to think before you make it. That's all."

Lyra dematerialized, and Sonia remained frozen in place, still not saying a word.

* * *

From his hospital bed, Ace reached out to take the folder from Boreal, inspecting the papers within quickly but thoroughly. His superior asked, "Do these look alright to you?"

Ace nodded. "Yeah—no complaints here, Chief. I trust all these people."

Boreal took the folder back and tucked it away. "Good. The sooner we get this team over to Whazzap, the sooner we can get Solo back. I have a feeling we're going to need him."

Turning to Dubius, Ace said, "I bet you'll be relieved to have a few less people crashing at AMAKEN."

"It's no trouble, really," Dubius said with a smile.

Ace turned to the other side of his bed, where Acid floated, saying, "And thanks for your help in getting Acid back on his feet…so to speak. I was really worried Joker might've corrupted his systems for good."

"There was no cause for alarm, Ace," Acid said. "My program is fairly resistant to Noise. Additionally, even if I should sustain irreparable damage, WAZA still possesses my backup data and could recreate me quite swiftly."

"What? Don't say it like that—just because they can make a new you doesn't make it okay if something happens to this you!"

Acid cocked his head. "…I fail to see the distinction. Nothing would be lost, barring perhaps a short period of memory."

" _You_ would be lost. And I don't want to see that happen."

Not sure how to respond, Acid faced Boreal instead. "Chief Boreal, I wish to apologize for losing control of myself. I have been working on potential ways to upgrade my Ace Program's security so that this will not happen again, and will share them with you as soon as I am satisfied with the results."

"Good," Boreal said. "I look forward to it."

"Why don't we just disable his limiters?" Ace said. "Then he'll be able to maintain full control over the Finalization."

Boreal ran a hand over his face. Acid said, "That is not guaranteed, Ace. You will recall that I—"

"Yeah, you used to have problems, but you've grown so much since then! I'm sure you could stay in control now! We should at least give him a chance, right Chief?"

"It's a dangerous thing to consider," Boreal said, "especially in the wake of this latest development. Right now I think it's better to keep Acid restricted, and just have the rest of our team focus on keeping him from begin hacked again."

Ace got a thoughtful look, muttering, "So we should focus on the team…" A glint came to his eye, and he turned to Dubius. "…Hey, while I have you here: I don't suppose there's any chance you know where Cyg—"

"Stop it," Boreal said.

"What? I'm just asking. When will we get another chance?"

Boreal shook his head sternly, and Dubius glanced between the two of them. "Um," he said, "are you asking about Cygnus? I know where he is."

Ace and Boreal both turned to him, the former asking, "Really?!"

"W-Well, sort of. I know he's…around."

"Has he been bothering you?" Boreal asked.

"No, nothing like that!" Dubius said, waving his hands. "I've just…I've seen him. I've been keeping an eye out for any EM wave bodies, with the scanners and the security cameras, and a while back I noticed that Cygnus had come by the facility. He didn't do anything, he just kind of…stopped by. I didn't know what to make of it. But, then he started to do it more and more—I've never actually approached him face to face, just seen the recordings. I'm not really sure why he's been doing it."

Ace grinned at Boreal, saying, "This could be our chance!"

"Hold on," Boreal said. "We don't have any idea what his intentions are. For all we know, he's still sees us as enemies."

Dubius fidgeted. "…Well…actually, I, um…"

Boreal faced Dubius, waiting patiently for him to speak.

"…I guess you could say…I left him a peace offering? On one of the more recent recordings, I noticed he was having some kind of spasm, and I figured it was probably due to Noise. So, um…I left out a data packet containing a Noise Filter…"

Boreal's eyes widened. "You left a Filter sitting out in the open?!"

"W-Well, it was on the Wave Road, so most people wouldn't even be able to get to it, and it was encoded so that a virus wouldn't be able to open it. Plus, I was keeping watch! Cygnus came back, and…he seemed hesitant, but he took it. It was a while before he came back, but he did, and he seems fine now." Dubius glanced at the wall. "It just…seemed like the right thing to do…b-besides, it'd be really dangerous for everyone if he ended up corrupted, right?"

After a moment, Boreal nodded. "No, you're right. Good call, Tom."

Dubius gave a relieved smile. Ace said, "So we _can_ approach him! This'll be perfect! Mr. Shepar already said he was interested in helping us out, and who knows, maybe Cygnus can even lead us to Libra! We'll be able to—"

" _Ace_ ," Boreal said. "Slow down. I'm still not convinced Cygnus would join us if we asked him."

"I'm sure we can swing it. Especially if we let Sonia do the talking!"

Looking down, Boreal said, "I…don't think that's going to work right now…"

Ace frowned. "…Oh. Is she not…?"

Boreal shook his head.

"Oh. That's too bad…I was hoping she'd be ready to talk some sense into Jack and Tia once we track them back down." He paused. "Any word on them?"

Again, Boreal shook his head.

"Shouldn't be surprised. Tia's been honing her plan to escape Dealer for as long as I can remember. If she can avoid them, she can surely avoid us too."

"Did she ever tell you anything that might give us a clue?"

Ace shrugged. "I used what I remembered when I escaped, and even that wasn't perfect. I wouldn't have made it if not for…" He cut himself off.

"Right," Boreal said, quickly moving the conversation along, "but at the very least, you still know them. What do you think they're planning to do now?"

Ace leaned back as he thought, eventually saying, "Tia's main goal is always Jack's safety. But...I think she's considering more than just his physical well-being? I remember her talking a lot about revenge, saying that as long as the people who made them suffer were still around, Jack would never truly be okay. I think…I think she wants to erase anything that could remind her or Jack about what happened to them. And King has definitely done a lot to them. So, as long as we keep fighting Dealer, I'm positive we'll bump into them again."

Boreal nodded, saying, "We'll keep our guards up, then."

Ace looked out the window. "…If Sonia won't be up to talking sense into them…then are we going to have to capture them again? Even if I was as good at this as her, Tia's never going to listen to me, which also means Jack won't. I'm beginning to wonder…if we'll ever really be able to help them…"

He didn't get a response, as Boreal simply tugged on the brim of his cap.

"I wish they'd been the ones who managed to escape. They deserve freedom so much more than I do."

"You aren't helping anyone by beating yourself up, Ace. Everyone makes mistakes, and your circumstances were pretty extreme to boot."

Ace looked at him. "Back when the FM-ians invaded…Sonia more or less had to kill some of them, didn't she? She must have hated it, but she seems fine now. How did she cope?"

"…I'm not sure she did," Boreal said. "I didn't really have many chances to catch up with her while it was going on, but she seemed to just be pushing it out of her mind as much as she could—and eventually, of course, the FM-ians were all reconstructed by the FM King. So at that point, I guess she didn't really need to deal with it."

Ace's gaze fell, and then he turned it back towards the window. "...I'm glad, for her sake. Because the people I've killed never got to come back…and I don't think I'm ever going to be okay with that…"

A long silence followed. Eventually, Dubius received a call and left the room, and Boreal also got up to leave.

"Sorry for almost spilling the beans, Chief," Ace said.

"Don't sweat it," Boreal said. "I trust Tom, so it wouldn't be a problem if he knew. It's just…you never know who else might be listening."

"Right. I won't bring her up again."

"Get some rest, Ace. Acid, I'm trusting you to keep him confined to this room by any means necessary."

"Understood," Acid said.

Ace finally cracked a smile. "Don't be so dramatic, Chief. I'll be up in no time! Besides, won't you need my help transporting whatever's still in HQ?"

"We've got that covered," Boreal said. "I've been in talks to get it transferred ASAP, and I've already asked Geo to take the lead. You rest. That's an order."

"…Well, he can definitely handle it. Maybe I should take it easy for just a bit."

"Good. I'll stay in touch with the guards, so if you need anything just let them know. Get well soon, Ace."

Boreal left, and Acid dematerialized. Ace stared back out the window, his smile gone at once.

 _Please save them, Sonia. I don't think that anyone else can._

* * *

Notes:

-Hey, so…it's been a while. Sorry about that. I went into detail over on Twitter, but basically, trying to juggle so many stories at once was killing me so I decided to focus on one at a time, and my Mega Man ZX fic was closer to completion so I focused on finishing that one first. But now, it's done, so I'm going to be focusing on this one until I get it wrapped up! Current estimate is putting that somewhere around 40 chapters? Maybe? We'll see how things go.

-In hindsight, it's really pretty strange that no one at WAZA tells you Joker is a Wizard in SF3. And, as far as I can remember, I don't think they give you any kind of reasoning for why they don't? I decided to roll with it and show Sonia get frustrated with WAZA's habit of withholding information, since this story is partly about putting as much pressure as possible on her to see if and when she'll break.

-So…earlier on, I don't think I really put much thought into the fact that the FM-ians have definitely killed a lot of people, or how this clashes with Sonia's absolute refusal to kill. It has finally occurred to me, and I've been wondering how best to address it, because…well, I guess I'm worried how it'll look/what it might "say"? Despite focusing in on the redemptive aspects of Star Force, to be honest, I'm not really the type who feels every person/character can be redeemed. I feel like it's a very tricky subject. Like, I love Vegeta, the Final Explosion has made me tear up, but dude killed a LOT of people and it is definitely weird the others don't talk about that more. Lyra and the other FM-ians have definitely changed—bad people _can_ change, I do believe that—but there are some things that you can't exactly "make up for", you know? Maybe part of why Star Force's redemptive aspects are so interesting to me is because it's a subject I haven't entirely figured out. Still, that kind of becomes a problem when I decide to write my own take on it, and I'm not sure I properly took that into account when I embarked on this series. I'm going to do my best to handle it…hopefully it'll work out.

-Sorry it's a bit short, but I'm ending it here for pacing's sake. Next time we launch into another set of battles to put the final pieces in place for the climax of act two!


	26. Chapter 26

Geo took a few steps, scanning the surrounding Astro Wave for any sign of trouble. Once he was sure, he returned to the warp that led him to where the others waited, and said, "Looks clear. Let's go."

After one more trip through the warp, he looked around again and advanced towards where the large platform gave way to a smaller path. Pat and Rey came next, with Hyde bringing up the rear, each of them exercising an equal degree of caution.

"This is absurd!" Phantom complained. "Clearly the better idea is to make haste to our destination, making it impossible for our enemies to intercept us!"

"Shut up already!" Rey said. "Haven't you figured out by now that no one gives a damn what you have to say? I'm sick of hearing your voice!"

"It's okay, Rey," Pat said, setting a hand on his brother's shoulder. "We're almost done. Let's just keep going."

Mostly to himself, Phantom grumbled, "Feh. Still, I am not given a single shred of respect."

"Oh?" Hyde said. "Did you do something respectable, Phantom? I must've missed that scene."

To his surprise, Phantom actually didn't respond, apparently having finally had his fill of arguing. Instead, Gemini spoke up, "So this is how humans treat their beloved 'partners'. Now I see what I've been missing."

"It's a two way street, Gemini," Pat said. "You've got to be willing to respect other people if you want other people to respect you. If you would just give it a try…"

Geo motioned suddenly, and they all stopped. There was a flash at the warp point up ahead, as if something had just come through and immediately retreated.

"I'll check it out," he said. He activated an Invisible Battle Card before warping. Soon he was back, and reported, "Yeah, we've got company. I see one Mal Wizard, some Acid Copies and Noise Beasts—it's not a huge group, but it looks like they spotted us and are waiting to spring an ambush."

"If only we'd been a bit faster," Phantom grumbled.

"How do you want to handle it, Geo?" Pat asked.

Geo turned aside, scanning the stars in the distance as he weighed his options. "…They…probably don't want to talk. And we really can't afford to draw this out any longer than we have to."

"Then shall we simply demolish the lot of them?" Hyde asked.

Geo shook his head. "No, not exactly. How about this…I'll sneak in again, cause a distraction to break up the ranks." He faced Pat and Rey. "After about 15 seconds, you two come in and take advantage of the chaos to delete as many of the viruses as you can." Finally turning to Hyde, he finished, "You wait another 15 seconds—try not to get noticed, and see if you can restrain the Wizard. Maybe once he sees his forces losing, we'll be able to reason with him. Everyone alright with that?"

"Am I permitted to voice my opinion?" Gemini asked.

"No," Rey said. "We're doing this. Get moving, Geo!"

He nodded and faced the warp again. He first took a moment to initiate a Noise Change, his armor taking the shape of Libra Noise and the color of Cygnus Noise, and then turned Invisible again. Once through the warp, Geo quietly walked to the center of the platform and, after getting close as he could to the Wizard and a few of his minions, used a Hurricane Dance Battle Card, rapidly spinning to generate a spiraling air wave that scattered everything in range like dust.

"What the hell?!" the Wizard said, bouncing when he hit the Road. "Hey, get that guy!"

The viruses advanced. Geo dropped a small device with a timer and teleported to the edge of the platform—the object exploded with tremendous force, swallowing up several of the weakened enemies. Wasting no time, Geo summoned a penguin-like virus that shot out to bounce around the field, knocking more of the enemies off their feet. It was then he faced the Wizard.

"You think you're tough or something?" the Wizard asked, summoning a lightning whip. "You're outnumbered, pal! Prepare to get deleted!"

The warp flashed just as the whip hit Geo's shield. Pat went in one direction, firing a bolt of lightning that lanced through a line of enemies in sequence, meanwhile Rey transformed his weapon arm into a drill before firing it, letting it bore its way through a small cluster of foes before exploding. As they continued their work, Geo teleported in front of the Wizard and forced him back with a sword. After dodging a second swipe, the Wizard touched the Road and corrupted a portion of it, but Geo's third swipe reached far enough to hit him anyway. He glanced back to see Hyde make his entrance—the Wizard seemed too stunned to notice.

"Alright," Geo said, opening his palm and aiming it at the corrupted Road. "Panel Format!"

Instantly, the surface was back to normal. Geo had another card ready before the shocked Wizard could even respond.

"Panic Cloud!"

A dark mist quickly rippled out from him. As it snaked its way around the Wizard and his viruses, they all began to behave erratically, moving in random directions and attacking when no one was in front of them; Pat and Rey made the most of the opportunity with a Gemini Thunder, blasting away most of the remaining enemies with the intense beam of intertwined lightning. The Wizard recovered faster than the others, and rushed forward to punch Geo in the jaw.

"Damn kid!" the Wizard said. "I'm gonna make you pa—"

He stopped abruptly as a large, shadowy hand clamped around him. Hyde stepped out from behind the appendage and said, "Come now, at least take your loss with some dignity."

Geo nodded to him, and then went to help Pat and Rey. Hyde faced the Wizard, who squirmed relentlessly.

"Oh give it up. Can't we simply talk about this, like civilized—"

What happened next surprised him. With a tremendous crack, a portion of the Wizard's neck burst, and Noise came spewing out of it; Hyde stepped back, grimacing, and said, "My, what a grotesque display…"

The Noise cloud increased in size, consuming the Wizard and tearing him free of Hyde's grasp. Geo looked back to see a Club symbol take shape in front of the mass.

"Darn," he muttered. "Heads up, guys! We're about to have bigger problems!"

Everyone shifted position, keeping an eye on the remaining few viruses while also sizing up the new foe who was emerging from the Noise. His form was massive and bulky, not unlike what had happened to Strong, covered in spiky purple and black metal and with the same scowling face as every Mal Wizard. In his hand he carried an oversized bat with dozens of nails stuck into the surface—he immediately raised it overhead and, giving a shout, slammed it back down. The force of the blow was so intense that the Wave Road shattered on impact.

"You've had your fun!" shouted the Wizard, now standing on a tiny raft of waves as the other bits of Road floated around, above, and below him. "Now we're gonna do things _my_ way!"

As the pieces settled, Geo aimed his buster to see how his foe would react. The Wizard pulled back his bat, a bomb spawning in midair before him, and hit the explosive towards Geo faster than he was expecting. Geo managed to teleport to another shred of Wave Road, but the force of the explosion set all the fragments into motion again.

"It took a lot of effort to spring this trap on you lot," the Wizard said. "Don't think I'm gonna give up that easily!"

One of Hyde's shadow hands clawed at the Wizard's back, but it did little more than anger him. He grabbed the hand and ripped it off, glancing in Hyde's direction; he snorted and spat at the man, hacking up an energy bullet that launched him into another platform. A shout from Rey caught his attention. He turned to see the boy fire the fingers of his weapon arm individually, each taking a different path as they homed in on him. The Wizard swung his bat, destroying most of them, and then raised his hand to keep the remaining few from detonating in his face. This distraction proved enough for Pat to get a clean shot at him. Still sparking from the lightning attack, the Wizard generated a few dozen more bombs and began to hit them towards his foes, filling the area with explosion after explosion. Geo teleported over to Pat, grabbed him, and teleported them both away just before the platform he stood on was engulfed in a blast; they regrouped with Rey, and Geo looked to Hyde, giving a nod. Hyde nodded back.

"You're _not_ going to win this!" Geo shouted at the Wizard. "If you leave now—"

The Wizard spat at him, so he stopped to teleport Pat and Rey to safety. The twins began to charge energy while Geo kept watch on their foe. A trio of bombs were sent their way, but Geo swung a fan-like weapon just as they were about to land, sending them back in the Wizard's face. He teleported away as Rey and Pat unleashed Gemini Thunder on the stunned Wizard, and then opened fire with a stream of bullets from a Mad Vulcan Battle Card.

"Obnoxious little bastards!" the Wizard shouted, spinning around and using the backside of his hand to slam Geo back into a portion of Wave Road. As he pulled back his bat, Pat and Rey both launched their weapon arms: when they came in range, the hands opened and grabbed onto the bat before it had the chance to move too far, with the arms' rockets still firing to hold the weapon back.

"Thanks guys!" Geo said as he picked himself up. "Get ready!"

He lobbed a large bomb at the Wizard. His enemy pulled his arm around to brace for the explosion, but it just landed harmlessly at his feet. Staring down at it in confusion, he was too preoccupied to stop Geo from teleporting closer and focusing a flamethrower upon the bomb, causing it to go up in one tremendous blast. The Wizard swung his bat blindly as he waved the smoke away, and Geo got behind him. With a swing of his fist, a row of bubbles shot out at the Wizard, joining together to encase him in a massive ball of water. He struggled to free himself, but it was no use—and Pat and Rey were ready to blast him free with a Gemini Thunder.

"Dammit," the Wizard said, still standing but looking a tiny bit weary. "You're all dead!"

He began to hit dozens of explosives towards the boys, spitting out the occasional energy blast to close any openings he left. The onslaught was too much for them to counterattack through, so they instead focused on dodging, though even that was proving troublesome. Suddenly the Wizard felt something bounce off the back of his head—he turned to see Hyde's hat flying back to his hand, and took a moment to sneer before turning back to his task.

"I'll get to you later, asshole," the Wizard said.

"Heh, heh, heh," Hyde chuckled, taking a step off the Wave Road. "By all means, take your time."

Hyde appeared to walk through the empty space between the fragmented waves. The Wizard turned to make sure that was what he was seeing, and sure enough it was. Before he could figure this out, however, a powerful shock swept through his system, and he felt a devastating uppercut connect with his jaw. The Wizard was dislodged from the waves he stood on, and as he spun around to try to find more footing, he looked around angrily—but no one was there.

"Huh?"

More attacks from nowhere began to pepper him. Hyde laughed as the Wizard grunted in pain and confusion, saying, "Ah, perhaps I should have given you more of a warning? Then again, why would I? Heh, heh, heh."

The Wizard threw apart his arms and yelled. Explosive energy pulsed outward from his body, which he guessed would buy him time, and he reached down to create a small hunk of corrupted Wave Road to stand on. More unseen hits connected as he tried to gain his balance.

"What the hell is this?" he muttered.

"Heh, heh," Hyde laughed, a spotlight focusing upon him as he walked in front of the Wizard. "You've been cast in one of my productions, good fellow. Consider yourself lucky—I usually have quite the rigorous audition process. I trust you'll do a simply phenomenal job…so why don't you simply follow the script? And lay down in defeat!"

The Wizard managed to brace himself against the next attacks. "Bullshit! You ain't my boss! I'll get out of whatever this is!"

Hyde turned, shrugging one shoulder. "Oh, have at it then, stubborn oaf. You will succumb eventually. It's so disappointing when a character's struggle amounts to nothing in the end."

The Wizard created something in his hand: another bomb, but this one looked different than the others, having the same glow as the corrupted Road he stood upon. He hit it with his bat and it seemed to disappear. Outside the illusion, however, it exploded upon contact with a tiny piece of waves; almost immediately, the platform was corrupted, and the same effect began to slowly seep into the nearby pieces of Road as well. Hyde raised an eyebrow.

"Ah, beg pardon, Mega Man and the Gemini Sparks, but I believe it best we skip the second act and put this foe out of commission at once."

"The hell you think we're trying to do?!" Rey shouted, blasting a weapon arm with spiked knuckles straight into the Wizard's face. "That stupid card gave him insane defenses—there's no telling how much more it's gonna take!"

Undaunted by his tainted perception, the Wizard continued launching corruption bombs, and the poison continued to spread over all the available platforms. Geo, Pat, and Rey continued to hammer away at their foe, taking an occasional glance back to make sure they were still safe, and Hyde cleared his throat and prepared to continue his act.

"Come now, sir, isn't this quite enough?" he asked. "If you continue to be so rowdy I'm afraid I may simply have to throw you out."

The Wizard grinned hideously. Gray sparks began to dance all around his body, and he said, "I'd like to see you try!"

The energy rippled out from him, slamming into everyone and sending them flying. Intense, burning pain shot through each of them, intensifying when they hit the corrupted Road before bouncing off to float in open space. It slowly began to die down then, but the Wizard was raising his bat already. The illusion was broken.

"There you are," he said, taking aim at Pat. "Take this!"

The boy froze. Rey twisted around, muttering a quick "Dammit," and looked around quickly. He kicked a corrupted platform, and the repelling shock sent him flying in Pat's direction. There was just enough time for him to push Pat out of the way, but then the bat connected, sending Rey flying off into the distance—out into the open abyss of space.

"Rey!" Pat yelled, reaching after him. "No, Rey, come back! I—"

His words were cut short as he bumped into more corrupted Road, receiving a painful shock. When he opened his eyes, however, he could see Geo utilizing his short-range teleport in rapid succession, heading off to collect Rey before he could be lost.

"Geo…"

Gemini spoke up, "Don't celebrate already."

Any relief he had was quickly sapped away. The Wizard was rearing back, preparing to launch another horde of bombs at the pair while their backs were turned.

"Oh no!"

"Do something, boy. You don't want your precious friends getting hurt, do you?"

Pat looked around frantically: Hyde was still stunned, and he couldn't find a single wave that hadn't been corrupted by the Wizard's power.

"I-I…can't…"

"Don't you understand? It's up to you."

"But…I'm…"

The Wizard swung. Pat reached out desperately, and without thinking, called upon the power at his disposal. Lightning sprang forward, and he did the only thing he could think to do with it: he willed the bolts to converge in front of the Wizard, wrapping around to form a net that caught the bombs and contained the explosions. The Wizard sneered, and Pat exhaled heavily.

"Hm," Gemini said. "Not bad."

Pat perked up. "Huh? Really?"

"You still need to pay attention!"

An energy bullet was flying towards Pat. He twisted around, managing to narrowly dodge it, and blasted electricity back at the Wizard to little effect. However, Hyde was up now, and he quickly assessed the situation; teleporting forward, he jabbed his cane into the Wizard's eye, and then retreated as he waved his arm in retaliation.

"Apologies, I seem to have dozed off there," Hyde said. "This is what happens when an amateur ad-libs!"

The Wizard pulled back his bat. Hyde willed a shadow hand to erupt behind him and grab the weapon, keeping him from slamming it down. Seeing this, Pat sent a continuous bolt of lightning at their enemy, pouring all his power into it to make it strong enough to punch through the Wizard's resilience.

"We cannot continue this, you are aware?" Gemini said.

"Just a bit more!" Pat panted. "I can…do just a bit…more…!"

Slowly, the Wizard moved, gradually forcing his way through the pain Pat's attack caused him. He raised his hand to attack, but suddenly Rey came flying in, his weapon arm in the shape of a hammer, and bashed the Wizard over the head with it. Pat lost his hold and let his body go limp as his brother came back over to him.

"Pat! Are you alright?"

"Heh…shouldn't I ask you?"

"Just answer me, dammit!"

"I'm fine. And it looks like you're fine too." He smiled. "I'm glad!"

Geo rocketed back in, his arm sharpened to a point, and cut across the Wizard's chest, taking a moment to glance down at Pat. They both nodded, and then Geo turned back to the Wizard as he began to build up more energy.

"Screw you all!" he said, his voice sounding rough and distorted. "I'm gonna delete each and every one of you!"

Hyde was too busy focusing on holding the bat back to be of much help, and Geo realized this. "We've gotta stop him _now_!"

"Do we have a card that can do the job?" Mega asked.

Before Geo could answer, Rey shouted, "Geo! Get ready!"

He didn't have time to think. Trusting Rey, he teleported right above the Wizard's head and held one arm out to side. Something was in his grasp a second later—Rey's weapon arm, transformed into a massive blade. Geo spun around and raised the sword high, and he heard Pat give a shout. A bolt of lightning struck the blade, infusing it with even greater power, just as the Wizard began to move. With a bellow, Geo swung down with all his might. The blade pierced its target's armor, slashing deep and blasting a hole clean through his body with the additional current it had been given; the energy the Wizard had built up exploded up at an angle, narrowly missing Geo, and soon became a torrent of Noise. The Wizard's form shrunk, returning to normal as all his power seeped out of him, and he floated there with a look of disbelief on his face.

"We did it," Geo said, out of breath. "Hey…you'd better get out of here!"

The Wizard scowled. "Yeah right…like Dealer would take me back after this!"

His body began to glow. Before anyone could react, he exploded, the force not as intense as his previous attacks but enough to send everyone reeling. Geo blinked—he could see the Noise left over from the fight flying away, but he couldn't get steady, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. The Wizard was nowhere to be found.

"Well, least it's over," Mega said. "You did good, kid."

Geo stared at the empty space where their foe had been. "…Did we even get his name?"

There was a pause. Eventually, Mega said, "Let's round everyone up. We've still got a job to do."

Geo looked around. Pat, Rey, and Hyde were all fairly close. Pulling himself upright, he went to collect them, trying to stay focused on the task at hand.

* * *

Sonia sat in the lobby of AMAKEN, silently staring at the holographic screen floating before her. Solo was on the opposite side of the room—he had only just returned from Whazzap, and upon hearing that the doctors were at work on a possible lead in locating Dealer's base, had decided to wait and see what came of it. Neither so much as glanced at the other. Part of Sonia felt like she should make an effort, but that was something she just wasn't feeling up to at the moment.

Her eyes wandered to the corner of her screen. Lyra floated there, her back turned as she occupied herself with something. Sonia still hadn't made sense of what she was feeling—she was at a complete loss as to how she should even approach it. She tried to think of something, desperately going over the issue again to try to find some sort of foothold, but no matter how hard she looked it just wasn't there.

 _Maybe…I just need to…_

A notification drew Sonia away. She tapped it, bringing up a new message from Luna: "Still stuck at AMAKEN?"

She was a bit slow in typing her reply. "Yeah. It's stayed quiet, thank God, and Geo's team should be setting up the connection soon. Here's hoping we can go this last stretch without incident."

"For once! It's about time you had an easy shift."

That got a smile out of Sonia. "Hey, I still need to take you out somewhere to celebrate your reelection. Thought of anything yet?"

"I've got a few ideas, but we can talk that out in person. Something to look forward to."

"I'm always looking forward to seeing you!"

Luna's response wasn't quick. While she waited for that, Sonia glanced around the lobby, verifying that Solo stood with his arms crossed in the exact spot she had last seen him. She began to tap her fingers.

"…Hey—"

An alarm cut her off. She glanced upward in surprise, stumbling to her feet and making her way to Dubius's office. Several Satella Officers passed her on the way; with each one she felt a new knot of anxiety tie itself around her heart. Boreal stepped out of the office just as she was about to reach it.

"What's happening?" she asked, hoping that somehow the obvious answer was incorrect.

"We're under attack," he confirmed. "And not just us: Geo and his team have been intercepted in the Astro Wave."

The anxiety wrung Sonia's heart even tighter.

"It sounds like they have the situation under control. But we don't have a lot of manpower left here, and I've got reports coming in from everywhere—Dealer's launching simultaneous attacks all over the country, and our officers are scrambling to respond."

"Oh no…"

Boreal went past her, eventually stopping to look back. "Sonia? Aren't you coming?"

"Um, right," she said, turning awkwardly. Boreal was off again, and after a moment, Sonia slowly went after him.

 _Do I have to do this?_

Solo was right where she had left him. He glanced up at Boreal as he entered, asking, "Anything on the base?"

"Not yet, no," Boreal sighed.

"Tch."

"We've actually got a situation here, and we'd really appreciate it if you could help us."

Solo gave it some thought, and then lazily pushed himself off the wall. "I suppose if anything happened to the facility, your researchers wouldn't be able to finish locating the base."

He made his way outside. Eventually, Sonia made it there as well—a Noise Wave was open in the distance, and through it came a steady stream of Noise Beasts and other viruses. The Satella Officers, though few in number, seemed to be doing a good enough job holding them back, and she took a step off to the side as she observed this.

 _They might not even need me._

The Noise Wave flashed. Sonia wasn't exactly surprised, and she was already distraught, but there was certainly a new layer of frustration coming over her as Joker stepped onto the battlefield.

Beside her, Solo's scowl darkened considerably. "Finally." He transformed and called Laplace to his hand. Bounding forward, he cut down a swath of viruses to make room, and then stared directly at Joker, who looked back with an equally hateful glare.

"Child of Mu," Joker said. "I see you and your pathetic weapon survived our last encounter. I would very much like to rectify that, if you have the courage to stand and fight this time."

The flames around Solo's fist flashed. He pulled Laplace back and punched, sending out a flurry of blasts, but Joker simply walked straight through them. Solo leapt forward and made an overhead swing, only for Joker to clap his hands together on either side of the blade and bring it to a halt inches from his face. Joker's knee aimed for Solo's chin, but the boy was ready: as Laplace shifted back to their Wizard form, escaping Joker's hold in the process, Solo twisted in midair to block Joker's knee with his hand, using it to brace himself as he continued to spin and kicked Joker in the side of the head. Joker was more surprised than damaged, and still quickly moved to swat at Solo. Laplace darted past him, grabbing Solo and pulling him away—Solo landed in a crouch and slid back a few feet, while Laplace formed back into a sword. With a snort of contempt, Joker began to gather energy in one hand.

"Sonia," Lyra said, making the girl flinch. "I think he could use our help."

Sonia swallowed hard. "…I…doubt that he wants it. It's Solo, after all."

Lyra paused. "Perhaps we could at least help clear the viruses? Once they're gone, the officers can retreat—so long as they're out here, there's a chance they could get caught in the crossfire."

… _Yah,_ Sonia thought. _I can't…just leave them to fend for themselves. That wouldn't be right._

Sonia raised her guitar, glancing at it warily for a few long moments. Taking a deep breath, she Wave Changed, and then connected to the Noise Server to give her armor the shape of Ophiuca Noise and the colors of Taurus Noise. She shuddered as she saw Joker fire an energy beam: Solo dodged to the side, letting it hit a Noise Beast, which immediately burst apart into a dozen fragments of data. Unconsciously, she ground her teeth.

"…We…need to get to work," she said quietly, facing the horde of viruses instead.

"Yes," Lyra said just as quietly, "let's."

Her foes weren't particularly strong, and she had faced larger numbers than this. But there was still something difficult about it for her. In all the time she had spent fighting in wave form, even including the early days when she was first getting the hang of it and learning what the FM-ians were like, Sonia had never felt as deeply unnerved by the power she was using as she did now.

* * *

Notes:

-Well that took a while.

-There were a couple extra things I wanted to add in around here, plus this point in the game is just Geo going around and investigating a handful of Noise Waves and that would've made for a boring read. I still ended up struggling to stay focused on Geo's team—initially they were just going to be fighting a generic horde, and swapping that for a relatively goofy new suite boss was my attempt to make it more interesting. Sort of a good thing it took a while, though: it was only at the last minute I thought of a way to try to tie this into some long-term matters. The specifics of their mission are coming up, though you might be able to guess; it's something that happens in the game, just a little later on and under more urgent circumstances.

-The school election was rescheduled and held off-screen. Luna is officially Prez again, and no one got arrested this time.

-The Solo and Sonia teamup is going to happen next chapter. That, and I'm going to setup one more fight to keep a few more characters involved. Stay tuned.


	27. Chapter 27

"Bud!"

"I see 'em!"

The sound of flames drowned everything else out for a moment. Copper glanced over at Ace, who tapped his fingers against the edge of his bed at ever-increasing speeds.

"Nice shot. Give me a boost!"

"Ready!"

"Ace," Acid said, shocking the man still. "Your efforts will only increase your heart rate. If you cause further damage, you will delay your release."

Ace sighed. "Sorry. Just hate being stuck here while Bud and Amy are out fighting those viruses."

Copper waved his Hunter and said, "As you can hear, they're doing just fine. There's no need to be bothered."

Ace flinched as the sounds of battle picked up again. "…I know. I trust them, I just…Dealer's attacking this place because of me. They're out there fighting to protect me—I feel like I should be there helping them."

"That would defeat the purpose, wouldn't it?" The detective paused. "…Look. I know you're used to having to fend for yourself, but your situation has changed. Let us handle it."

With a slow nod, Ace managed to lean himself back, closing his eyes as he hit the pillow. Acid cocked his head as he reevaluated his partner's vitals.

"Man, this is easy," Amy said.

"Hey, let's not get cocky!" Bud said. "Be prepared to turn up the heat at any moment!"

"Hehe, I think it'd be _down_ in my case."

"Hah, right!"

A chuckle came from Ace. Copper set his Hunter down, getting up to stretch for a moment.

"Hey, it's opening up again."

He glanced at the device.

"And, uh…huh, that guy looks kinda familiar…"

A grunt from Taurus came next. "Is that…? Bud, get over there!"

Ace began to sit up again. Copper picked up his Hunter and asked, "Report: what's going on out there?"

"Uh, not sure," Amy said. "Sounds like Bud and Taurus know this guy who just came out of the Noise Wave, but that's all I can tell you."

From the corner of the screen, Plesio turned to look at Copper. The detective said, "Not just yet. Let's wait a moment."

"Ace," Acid said.

"What," Ace said, "can't I be curious?"

"Mrrrgh," came Taurus's voice. "I thought it was you. What are you doing here?"

A new voice responded: "Taurus? So, I guess it's true…you're still trusting these humans."

"You didn't answer me. What are you doing here, Libra?"

Copper's eyes widened. Ace gripped the edge of his bed, leaning forward until Acid grabbed his shoulder to stop him.

"…I'm doing what I have to do, Taurus," Libra answered. "My choices were to die, or to come here and fight. I'm sure you understand."

Acid struggled to hold Ace back. Copper turned suddenly, pulling out a set of handcuffs and chaining Ace to his bed.

"Wha—?"

"I told you," Copper said as he crossed the room, "let us handle this."

"They have an FM-ian down there, Detective! This changes everything!"

"Not for you it doesn't! Acid, keep him here by any means necessary!"

"Affirmative," was all Acid said.

Copper rushed down the hall, keeping the channel open as he went.

"Listen to me Libra!" Taurus said. "You don't have to do this! Just come with us, and—"

"You think they'll let me?" Libra interrupted. "They're _everywhere_ , Taurus! No matter how hard I tried to escape, they kept finding me! I'm sure they're watching right now. If I try to escape, they'll just find me again!"

"Mrrrgh! We'll protect you, Libra! You have to trust us!"

"Trust…? You really think I'm willing to trust you, Taurus?!"

Copper stopped at a window that gave him a view of the hospital's exterior. A small swarm of viruses was still crawling over the grounds, Amy and a handful of Satella Officers hard at work keeping them at bay. Bud stood farther off in the distance, right before a massive swell of Noise that projected a Cup emblem.

"Dammit," Copper breathed. "We're not prepared for this!"

The Noise soon faded away. The being that stood in its wake was roughly ten feet tall, with a body shaped like a goblet made from gleaming bronze and decorated with countless red and blue gemstones. A lid covered the top of the cup, and at its peak was a flattened knob that sprouted a small, angular crest resembling handles, with a long stripe along the front side of it that gleamed with crimson light. From the base of the cup rose two curved arms that each gripped a large, flat pan—from one, water bubbled, constantly spilling out of the holder, whilst the other held a boiling sample of magma that similarly refused to be contained.

"I am Chalice Libra," he stated, slowly lifting off the ground. "Ideals… _trust_ …I have no need for such things! I will sacrifice them all for the sake of balance! And if you stand in my way, Taurus, I will not hesitate to sacrifice you as well!"

* * *

From his vantage point in the sky, Dubius watched the battle unfold with an almost unbearable sense of anxiety. The Satella Officers were beginning to tire, and the viruses were getting smarter: as he watched, one of them drew the attention of the guards, only to dodge their fire as three more viruses jumped on their foes. Sonia was offering some support, but it wasn't enough. And as for Solo, he was far too busy fighting Joker, a fight which was also hard to be optimistic about. Swallowing hard, Dubius turned to his Hunter.

 _I-I still have my Battle Cards,_ he thought. _And with the Flappack, I should be able to hit and run fairly effectively. So long us, um…none of them see coming…_

He heard a commotion from behind. Whirling around, he realized that a few viruses had made it onto the roof of AMAKEN; panicking a little, Dubius flew forward, afraid of what they might do if left unchecked. As he drew closer, however, he saw that they were not alone.

 _Oh!_

On the receiving end of the viruses' attacks was none other than Cygnus, doing his best to defend himself though it was clear he had been caught off-guard. He smacked one virus back with his wing and hopped to the side. With a squawk, he began to flap furiously, sending out waves of feathers to pepper his foes, but one of the viruses managed to leap over the attack. As they went in to attack Cygnus from above, Dubius slid a Mad Vulcan Card through his Hunter—the weapon materialized before him, firing a quick series of bullets to delete the virus before it had a chance to reach the FM-ian. Cygnus looked up in surprise.

"Wha—you?!" he said. "What are you—"

"Get back!" Dubius said, pulling up to the side of the roof. Cygnus complied, and the viruses turned to face Dubius as he swiped another Battle Card. The Air Spread was enough to blast them all away.

Eyeing Dubius warily, Cygnus walked along the edge of the roof and said, "Hm…I had the situation under control, human."

Dubius touched down. In a flash, his wings disappeared.

"I see you're still wearing that ridiculous contraption."

"It works a lot better now," Dubius said. "I've made the wings out of Real Waves—they can be as large as necessary, and then I can just dematerialize them to not get in the way while walking."

Cygnus just scoffed…though it came out sounding like a honk.

"Cygnus, I—"

"Don't tell me you're about to ask for my help! Hmph, do you think simply because all the others have rushed to join you humans, I'll simply follow suite?"

"I'm asking for your help because we need it. Earth and Planet FM are allies now—aren't we supposed to help each other out when the other needs it?"

Cygnus ruffled his feathers. "How should I know? I haven't seen Planet FM in three years."

"…You've been here this entire time?"

The FM-ian didn't answer.

"Well…what have you seen in that time?"

Cygnus glared at him. "What are you expecting to hear? That you were right? That I've seen trust instead of betrayal, that maybe there's some point to this 'relationship' nonsense you're always going on about?"

"…Is that what you've seen?"

"That's not what I said!"

Dubius smiled. "That must be it. Otherwise, you wouldn't have trusted me enough to take the Noise Filter, right?"

Cygnus flinched. "That was…well, that was foolish on your part! Giving me access to such important technology—why would you do such a thing?"

"I was worried what might happen to you without it. And…I trusted you wouldn't misuse it."

Cygnus stared at him.

"Look, Cygnus. I understand if you still have doubts, but the situation we're in is dire. Meteor G could destroy the planet and everyone on it, and we need to stop Dealer if we're going to have any chance of stopping that! If we lose here, it's bad news for you whether you help us or not."

"Hrm, I was afraid it was something to that effect," Cygnus grumbled.

Dubius held out his hand. "All I'm asking is for your help defending AMAKEN right now. After that, if you want to keep doing things on your own, that's fine. Please, Cygnus. We need your help."

Cygnus craned his neck as he studied Dubius's face. With a long sigh, he said, "Well…I suppose if I don't, that giant down there will simply snatch me up. He's tried numerous times already. Fine. I'll work with you for the time being."

Dubius grinned. "Thank you, Cygnus. I really app—"

"Oh, stop already," Cygnus said as he came forward, "there's no need for all the pleasantries, just hurry up and Wave Change. If we're going to work together then you'll need better wings than that unsightly thing can offer!"

He disappeared into Dubius's Hunter before the man could say another word. Chuckling, Dubius raised the device and hit a few buttons, and once the registration was complete, he braced himself.

"Transcode 016: Cygnus Wing!"

The form was almost exactly the same as he remembered—the feet were white rather than black, and his bodysuit was a silvery color with blue lines running down the front and sides, but those were the only changes he could tell at a glance. His wings didn't sprout at first, but with a swing of his arm, they unfurled from his back in a dazzling display.

"Alright…let's go!"

Dubius dove towards the battlefield, calling up a dozen duck-like creatures to throw themselves into the fray and break up the enemy lines while he aimed for a Noise Beast in the rear. He spun around and lashed out with a powerful kick—the beast was sent flying, crashing into a nearby hillside, and Dubius sent a wind current after it strong enough to blast it to bits. Viruses moved to surround him. With a flick of his wings, he impaled them all with feathers, and then took off again.

Looking up, Sonia said, "Is that…Mr. Dubius? And Cygnus?!"

"My," Lyra said, "where has he been hiding?"

Sonia blasted back a group of viruses and glanced over at Solo. Joker had barely moved, continuing to attack relentlessly while Solo did his best to evade and find openings to counterattack. Each time Solo did attack, however, Joker avoided or ignored the blow, reaching forward to try to grab Solo while he was close. Solo had been lucky so far. But, judging from the way he was panting, he was running low on stamina; Joker remained collected as ever.

"You cannot defeat me," Joker said. "It is pointless to delay any further."

Solo grunted. He drew a symbol in the air which became a bright purple fireball, and then lobbed it forward. The attack landed at Joker's feet, erupting in a brilliant flash that blinded him, and Solo used another glyph to teleport behind him and swung. He grazed Joker's arm as his foe raised them to shield his head. Joker spun and brought one fist down hard, cracking the pavement beneath it—Solo managed to leap away from this—and then rushed forward with both arms spread wide, catching Solo on his collarbone and flipping him onto his back. The blow stunned Solo, and Joker wasn't about to let the opportunity pass. With a mere twist of his body, Joker slammed his elbow down directly into Solo's chest, and the boy yelled out in pain.

Sonia started. Her body locked up before she got very far, and she watched as Joker reached down to grab Solo by the neck. Laplace took on their bodily form and clawed at his eyes, but Joker blocked them, and sent them flying with a headbutt.

 _I…can't just…_

Joker lifted Solo into the air. Solo raised his arm and began drawing a glyph, but Joker grabbed his wrist before he could finish. Sonia started once more, but pushed harder this time, not stopping to think, and broke into a sprint.

"Joker!"

He glanced over as she hurled her guitar at him. Giving Solo a shake, he freed one hand to catch the instrument, and that was when Sonia retracted the strings, carrying her through the air in a second to deliver a flaming punch right to Joker's face. He flinched. No, she realized, he only scowled. Sonia continued to push, not giving herself a chance to stop and think: she blocked when Joker threw a knee, getting hit back but keeping her strings connected, and swung around to the other side of him while summoning a speaker up above. She kicked the elbow of the arm that held Solo, achieving little. Joker prepared to attack when strings shot out from the speaker, wrapping around his neck and pulling the equipment straight into the back of his head, finally surprising the man enough to loosen his grip. Sonia reeled in her guitar and stepped back; Solo held out his hand, catching Laplace just as they returned, and made a shallow cut on Joker's shoulder before dropping to the ground.

"Stay out of this!" Solo said, already drawing a new glyph.

Sonia just played her guitar. Notes appeared all around her, hanging in the air as Solo rushed Joker. He had recovered now, and carefully blocked each of Solo's hits—Laplace moved much faster now, their weight reduced by the symbol's power. Joker adapted quickly and pushed back with enough force to send Solo reeling. Sonia quickly transmitted a sound pulse to the speaker, making Joker's ears ring, and then began to pepper him with the delayed blasts. Solo glared at her, but still dashed at Joker and delivered a punch to his gut.

"Pathetic!" Joker shouted, ripping the speaker free and bashing it against Solo's head. "You think banding together like this will bolster your puny strength? Foolish weaklings!"

He kicked Solo down and shot a beam at Sonia. She dodged, but seeing that attack made things finally catch up to her. Her body locked up again as Solo barely avoided being stomped flat by Joker.

"Sonia, focus!" Lyra said. "We need to keep up the pressure!"

"I told you to stay back!" Solo barked. "This is my fight! I'd rather die than rely on the strength of a group!"

Joker backhanded him. "And I shall oblige you!"

Sonia gritted her teeth as she strained against her own body. "I…I don't want to fight to hurt someone! I can't let myself…"

Solo used both hands to catch Joker's fist, while Laplace attacked his other arm. The Wizard couldn't stop Joker from punching Solo, breaking off a piece of his visor and knocking him away.

"Sonia!" Lyra said. "Why did you jump in earlier? Were you aiming to hurt Joker, or did you just want to save Solo?"

Sonia looked up at Joker. "I…"

"So much indecision weighs you down," Joker scoffed. "I thought perhaps you were the reason Meteor G now answers a new call, but now I see that is impossible. You lack conviction. So much power could be yours—"

"I don't want power meant to hurt people!" Sonia said.

"…Sonia," Lyra said. "The power in the Meteor Server…and my power as well…they aren't inherently _for_ anything. Maybe they have been used to hurt, but they've also been used to help. So keep using them! It—"

She was cut off as Joker knocked Sonia to the ground. He said, "I've had enough. You disgrace Mother's program by using it so half-heartedly."

Sonia twitched. Slowly pushing herself up, she said, "It came…from _my_ mother's program…you're the one who's disgracing it!"

He kicked her in the face with enough force to flip her. "You do not have the strength to prove your ideals. I need not listen to you."

Sonia lay there for a moment, her body aching. _…What am I doing…?_

Before Joker could say anything more, a grunt from Solo caught his attention, and he turned to face the boy. Laplace was in blade form, now multiplied in size tenfold as a trio of glyphs orbited their hilt. With a heave, Solo swung the massive sword—Joker crossed his arms, being pushed far away by the attack, but still managing to stay on his feet.

With great effort, Sonia pulled herself up. "I can't stand back. I can't let someone else get hurt, not when I have the power to stop it."

As Laplace shrunk back to normal size, Solo said, "I told you, I'm not—"

"Solo!" She turned and locked eyes with him. "I know you don't want to rely on a group, but you need to reassess the situation! I'm not here to help you beat down someone you hate. I'm here to protect you from someone who's hurting you! So please, let me!"

Solo stared at her for a moment. Then, his eyes drifted to Laplace.

"You have an important reason to stop Dealer, don't you? Something only you can do? How are you going to accomplish it if Joker stops you here?"

Joker was walking towards them now. Solo gave one of the longest groans Sonia had ever heard, but as he fired a shockwave from Laplace, he shouted, "Do what you want! Just don't get in my way!"

Sonia didn't want any longer. She played quickly, summoning a small army of red snakes all around the battlefield. One by one, each spat up a ball of lava that flew towards the air at Joker; those that hit clung to his clothes and slowly burned away, but others hit the ground before him, creating a blanket of magma that even he wasn't willing to step right into. Solo drew a glyph as their foe stopped to evaluate his position. With one final flick, the symbol disappeared, and Solo leapt forward. The glyph reappeared just as he was about to lose altitude, providing a foothold for him to jump off of, and reappeared again each time he needed it. This way he was able to close the gap to where Joker was trapped, and drew back his sword to attack from the front. Joker was prepared. At the last second, Solo jumped to the side, stopping on a new glyph right next to Joker, but Joker had anticipated this. He threw a punch, but hit nothing. Solo had moved to Joker's other side, and delivered a clean cut before bounding back out of range.

"Weaklings!" Joker said, building up energy.

Sonia aimed her guitar and launched a focused beam of flame from the head. It was enough to break Joker's concentration, and Solo used the opportunity to draw a glyph over the magma. A cyclone spawned in its place, sucking the lava up into it, and then bore down upon Joker, who punched a handhold into the ground in order to hang on until the funnel dissipated.

"Insignificant…insects!"

His fists glowed red, and he smashed them down into the pavement. Fractures overflowing with Noise spread out on impact, and Solo and Sonia both had to be careful not to get knocked off their feet. Somewhere in the confusion, Joker closed the gap between himself and Sonia—one hand was still glowing red, and he was reaching towards her with it. Sonia immediately remembered what he had done to Ace. She was off-balance, so all she could do was roll backwards, but Joker needed only to take another step to get back in range.

"See how well you handle _true_ power!"

A chain of purple fire wrapped around Joker's arm, stopping him just before he grabbed Sonia. He looked back to see Solo at the other end, both he and Laplace pulling with all their might; Sonia let out a small breath, and then brought her hand down on her guitar. A powerful sound pulse hit Joker point-blank, making him stumble back. Solo drew a glyph, and he became a blur as he rocketed down the length of chain. Sonia jumped out of the way as Solo cut past their foe. Both of them were ready again in an instant, while Joker fell to one knee with a look of pure rage.

"Rrrgh…I…will _not_ be bested like this!" He rose to his full height, a dense aura of Noise wrapping around him. "This fraction of my power should have been enough to end you both. But if you are so eager to test me…then I shall unleash all of Meteor G's might upon you here and now!"

He spread his arms and clenched his fists. With a deep roar, his aura grew even stronger, emitting a pressure that made Solo and Sonia unconsciously take a step back. Suddenly, the Noise Wave opened up once again. The combatants eyed it expectantly, but nothing emerged. Joker's aura abruptly vanished, and he resumed his normal stance once more.

"…Fine," he murmured. "Mr. King wishes I save my strength for another time. But know this, both of you. When next we meet, I will hold nothing back. And my power _will_ overwhelm you, no matter how many fools you bring to be slaughtered."

He turned and walked towards the Wave. Neither Sonia nor Solo did anything to stop him. Once he was through, the portal closed, and after a few moments of waiting they both finally turned away.

"Solo," Sonia said, "I—"

"Save it," Solo said. "We've still got a job to do."

Sonia nodded and went to leave.

"…Harp Note."

She looked back. Solo was facing off in another direction.

"…Thank you."

She smiled. "You can just call me Sonia, you know."

Solo ran back into the fray without another word. Sonia prepared to do the same, but realized she felt a bit dizzy. "He must have hit me harder than I thought."

"Let's get somewhere with cover," Lyra suggested. "We can comfortably snipe away at our foes without much fear of reprisal."

"Right. And, Lyra—"

"As Solo said, we have a job to do. One thing at a time, dear."

"Ah…right."

* * *

Notes:

-Did you guys know that Copper actually _is_ in Star Force 3?! I decided to play the game a little recently just to run around the world while it's eternally locked in the state of waiting for you to stop Meteor G, and found Copper in Alohaha. I have no idea at what point he started appearing there. He doesn't do anything, just says "Yeah I heard you're actually Mega Man go save the world," but still…I spent the past ten years thinking he wasn't in the game at all and just found out I was wrong. Wild.

-Libra here is sort of in the same position that Ophiuca was at the start of Tribe: I wanted to hint towards him showing up, but wasn't sure of the best way to do that without completely giving it away. When filling out the additional suites, it seemed like a good idea to have one of the remaining FM-ians take a slot, and Libra is probably the only one who can make a Cup-based transformation work, so I'm rolling with it. The flat knob head is based on an unused concept for Libra Scales's design from the OCW. As for Cygnus Wing, that's another design I had no idea how to streamline, so a change of color and retractable wings will have to do. I want to give him some more wind-based attacks, but that's about all. And yes, his Transcode is 020 in canon, but I couldn't get to that number with what was available to me so I had to alter it.


	28. Chapter 28

Bud leapt to the side as a blast of water came at him. When it hit the ground, it erupted into a spinning burst of droplets, catching Bud by surprise.

"Libra, stand down!" Taurus shouted.

"Taurus, I don't think he's gonna listen," Bud said. "We're gonna have to fight!"

Taurus grunted quietly as Libra launched another water blast. Bud prepared to dodge, but then a sheet of ice suddenly formed overhead—Amy came sliding down it, shooting a blast of cold from her hand to freeze the oncoming attack and make it drop to the ground harmlessly.

"Thanks, Amy!" Bud said. "Keep it up!"

"You got it!" Amy said, already creating a new ice path for herself.

Bud charged straight at Libra. Amy threw snowballs to keep him off-balance, though they seemed to do little against his armor. Bud made it about half-way before Libra attacked: a shadow appeared over Bud, so he threw himself into a sideways roll, just barely avoiding a massive steel weight covered in spikes as it fell from the sky. He got right back up and kept charging. Libra's eye flashed, and a series of geysers burst from the ground, gradually making their way towards Bud, while similar pillars of fire chased down Amy. Amy created a slope to launch herself high into the air, out of the towers' reach—Bud exhaled a huge swath of flames, heating the ground ahead so that any water that attempted to spring from it turned instantly to steam.

"Got you!" Bud said as he finally closed in.

He leapt towards Libra, throwing a straight punch. When he connected, the target was sent flying...but he quickly realized it was not Libra he had hit. The giant weight from before soared off into the distance, while Libra now floated back behind him, right where the massive object had initially dropped.

"Huh?" Bud said as he spun around. "How'd he do that?"

"Simpleton," Libra said. "One such as yourself will never best me."

Bud grunted, raising one hand. "It's way too soon to say that!"

Amy fell right into his grip. He spun immediately, building up momentum before hurling her at Libra. A fireball came to intercept her, but she cancelled it out with a large snowball, and landed a kick to Libra's face.

"Yes!" Amy cheered. "How do you—"

A swirling torrent of fire and water enveloped Libra then, picking up Amy and hurling her back. Libra turned to press his advantage, but one of Bud's rocket punches hit him while he was distracted, and he spotted the boy charging once again. Libra scoffed. He summoned three weights, one that almost crushed Bud and two that were off to either side, and then simply waited.

As Bud barreled past Amy, he said, "Get ready!"

"Libra's going to switch places with one of them," Yeti said. "We need to attack as soon as he does!"

Amy glanced quickly between the three weights. As Bud threw his punch, she threw a snowball at the weight that was farthest away. Her guess was incorrect.

"You humans are pathetic!" Libra shouted from nearby. "Is such a simple trick too much for you?"

He was unaware of the way the ground beneath him was shimmering. Suddenly, the massive jaws of Plesio Surf shot up, snapping shut around Libra's base and making him shout in surprise. Quick to take advantage of the situation, Amy slid forward and kicked at Libra, while Bud bounded over and finally landed a solid punch.

"Thanks for the help, Detective!" Amy said.

"Don't thank me yet," Copper said, pulling Libra aside.

"Wretched fools!" Libra said. "Away from me!"

Several weights dropped around him, forcing back Bud and Amy. They tried to warn Copper, but Libra switched places with a weight before they could; Copper faltered a bit under the sudden change in what he was holding, but recovered quickly, whipping his neck around to smash the weight right into Libra. He submerged right away, avoiding the small firestorm Libra tried to catch him in.

"Amy, I'll give you an opening!" Bud said. "Make it count!"

Amy nodded and raised both hands above her head, starting to craft an enormous snowball. Bud punched the ground to call up flame pillars, not only hitting Libra but also melting the remaining weights. Amy threw her attack right at their foe. Libra saw it coming, but he did not move. Instead, the lid portion of his body separated from the rest, lifting high enough that the snowball went between the two pieces.

"W-What?!" Amy said.

Stranger still, the snowball did not pass through the opening, but hung in the air for a moment. Then, it was pulled down into the cup, disappearing from view, and Libra sealed himself up again. The water he held began to bubble with even more force.

"Oh…so he can do that now."

Another water projectile came their way. Amy threw up a wall of ice, but the ball exploded into a miniature typhoon, ripping the barrier to shreds in an instant. A weight fell towards her, but Bud pushed her out of the way and took the hit instead. Copper resurfaced behind Libra, firing a lightning bolt at the unsuspecting EM being. He tried to retreat, but Libra summoned a weight faster than he expected, and it sent him plummeting into the depths.

"Bud! Are you alright?"

With a groan, Bud pushed the weight away and picked himself up. "Yeah…guess we underestimated this guy, though. No more of that!"

He roared as the flames shooting from his elbows grew larger. In seconds, Bud's armor was burning red hot, and Libra regarded him curiously. Bud sprinted forward, so he summoned a weight in his path. This time, Bud just put his horns down and kept running, colliding with the weight and launching it at Libra without missing a step. Libra switched places with the object before it could hit him, and learned something new about his ability in the process: he retained the momentum of the object he switched places with, meaning he was now flying through the air towards the stationary weight. Pulling himself around, he managed to stop just before colliding with it, but Bud was almost on top of him now. On instinct, he switched places with the weight again. He realized it was a bad idea even before Bud punched it straight into him. Flames consumed Libra, but when he opened his lid, they were all pulled inside his armor, feeding the flames he wielded. He returned them to Bud, and though the boy held his ground, there was not much else he could do.

"Stupid, stupid humans," Libra muttered as he drifted away. "You understand nothing!"

"Hey, you're the one who's refusing to talk to us," Taurus said.

"I already told you: I have no choice but to fight!"

"Mrrgh! Can't do both?"

Bud dodged to the side as another weight fell. "C'mon, Libra! At least tell us what it is you want! Maybe we can work it out!"

"All I want is peace!" Libra shouted. "But I've realized that's impossible! I am an engine of war, and there is no escaping that!"

As he talked, Amy rolled a snowball along the ground towards him; as it came upon the weight he had spawned, it pulled the object into itself and grew larger, reaching a point where it dwarfed Libra. The FM-ian focused a powerful blast of flame onto it, breaking it apart, but Bud leapt into the fire as soon as he spotted the weight and gave it a punch. Libra was sent spinning by the projectile, and soon realized he was sinking as well. A whirlpool had appeared beneath him, courtesy of Copper, who now circled around him from a safe distance.

"That's what we all thought," Taurus said. "But the rest of us…well, most of us…have learned it doesn't have to be that way!"

Another weight fell, though this one wasn't close to anyone in particular. Libra switched places with it immediately, and pillars of water and fire spread out from him in every direction, forcing his foes to take evasive action.

"Well it must be nice!" Libra yelled. "Having someone to care for you, having a home you can return to! I've been stuck on my own this entire time, constantly hunted down by these Dealer thugs, barely escaping the traps laid out for me at every turn! I've been tracked like an animal for three years with no end in sight! But I couldn't outrun Corvus…it was all a waste! I still ended up their pawn!"

Entire lines of weights fell from the sky, trying to crush Bud and Amy and Copper as they desperately searched for safety. Taurus mumbled, "Libra…"

"I had no idea what had become of you or any of the others! And here I find you've been living happily this whole time, apparently completely free of all that had burdened you? You all got everything you ever wanted, and all you had to do was sacrifice me!"

Copper motioned for the kids to stay back. With a heave, he called up a massive tidal wave, and as it surged forward it swept up the dozens of weights Libra had generated, carrying them all back towards him at once. Libra quickly scanned the oncoming wave and moved slightly before opening his lid. He was able to absorb the wave, and while that didn't stop the weights, he was able to position himself so that he didn't take a direct hit from any of them. However, he did not see the red-hot rocket punch coming until it was too late.

"What, it's our fault?!" Taurus said as Bud charged. "You think we didn't try to find you, Libra? We had no idea where you were! We wanted to help you, but—"

"Shut up!" Sparks of green static burst around Libra's head as he spoke. "Enough of your lies, Taurus! What does it even matter now?!"

Bud swerved back and forth, doing his best to dodge the incoming water blasts. If nothing else, he seemed to have successfully drawn Libra's attention: Amy and Copper were moving to flank him, seemingly undetected still, so he kept running.

"It matters now because you're here!" Taurus said. "Now we can finally help you! And we're gonna start by beating the Noise out of you!"

Copper focused hard on the area around Libra. A trio of waterspouts spun into existence, circling the FM-ian and catching him by surprise. He spotted Copper in time to dodge his lightning breath, and called down a weight that very narrowly missed its mark—still, he used it to escape the funnels, and turned to take stock of his surroundings. Amy was close, but not as close as she had been hoping to get. Libra used a weight to get closer to her and sent her flying with an explosion of flame.

"Lay off!" Bud said, throwing himself at Libra. He knocked his foe off-balance, so he started punching, continuing to push him back and back.

"Foolish…humans…" Libra said. "I…won't…lose…to you!"

A torrent of water threatened to wash Bud away. He dug in, managing to stay upright, and then looked up to see a weight coming down towards him. With an uppercut, he split it into four pieces, and then crouched down. Copper's head surfaced right beneath him, only long enough to toss him high into the sky. Libra looked up in confusion. A second later, a massive avalanche rammed into his back, sweeping him away; Amy angled her ice slide through the air to catch Bud just before he fell, though the heat from his armor greatly thinned their path as they headed for the ground.

"I think the Noise is gonna start messing with his head," Bud said as they not-quite-crash-landed. "We'd better wrap this up fast, or else he could go berserk."

"Then why are we standing around?" Amy asked. "Go get him, Bud! We'll back you up!"

With a nod, Bud took off towards Libra, while Amy kept up with an ice slide. Libra launched attacks at them one after another, but very few hit their mark, and none did much to slow the two of them down. He soon gave a yell—at least half a dozen weights materialized in the air, placed just so that Bud would run straight under them.

"Brace yourself!" Amy shouted as she reached out.

Bud shifted his weight. The ground before him froze over, and as he slid across the ice it gently angled him away without taking away his speed, allowing him to just narrowly clear the falling objects. He and Amy continued to dodge Libra's shots, now retaliating with a few of their own.

"It's still gonna be tough to get close," Bud said. "I'll power through it if I have to, but…"

Copper surfaced nearby, surprising him and nearly costing him his footing. "Leave that to me. Jump when I tell you to!"

Bud nodded. Copper pulled back a bit, and gritted his teeth as he prepared to summon another tidal wave. The strain was worse than he had been expecting, but he did his best to ignore it—he needed to wait for just the right moment. Bud and Amy were closing in now, and Libra summoned another weight in their path.

"Now! Get on top of it!"

Bud leapt onto the weight at the same time Copper released his power. The wave sprung up directly beneath Bud, immediately shooting up to tower over Libra, and Bud balanced carefully atop the weight as the force of the rushing water carried it up and forward. Libra opened his lid to absorb the wave, drawing all the water into himself; Bud waited as long as he could, and when his altitude dropped too low, he hefted the weight, tossed it forward, and fired a rocket punch behind it to give it an extra push. Libra shouted as the attack impacted his base, his entire body shuddering, but continued to pull in Copper's attack as Bud fell towards him.

"Libra!" Bud shouted. "This has gone on long enough!"

He threw his fist down, but Libra just barely pulled away in time. Rather than retreat, he remained right in front of Bud, and called up a swirling veil of water and fire, battering the boy with the full force of the storm.

"If that's the case, then give up!" Libra said. "Run away—sacrifice your friends to keep yourself alive! That's your only hope of escape, stupid human!"

The attack was rapidly whittling away at Bud's stamina. Mustering all the strength he had left, his armor burned even hotter, and he managed to take a step forward.

"Libra," Taurus said. "I'm sorry that Dealer found you before we did. But now that we have found you…we're not gonna let go!"

Bud reached out and grabbed each of Libra's arms. The points at which they connected to his base were cracked, no doubt from the rocket-propelled weight that had just hit him.

"Sorry!" Bud grunted. "Here goes!"

With a tremendous roar, he pulled until both of Libra's arms snapped clean off. The FM-ian cried out in pain, his attack ceasing instantly, but Bud knew he couldn't relax yet. Lifting the two appendages overhead, he moved to bring them down upon Libra. However, even in agony, Libra was able to evade, switching places with the same weight that had wounded him.

"Damn you!" Libra said as he spun around. "Damn humans!"

Thinking fast, Bud spun and started to breathe fire on Libra. Libra opened up to absorb it, but Bud kept up the pressure, not sure what else to do.

"I'll take all your power from you! I can absorb far more than—"

An enormous snowball came at him from the side, getting wedged into the opening. Amy was already creating another as Libra slowly worked to break it down. Cracks began to appear all along his body.

"Rrrgh...this…is still…!"

He turned his head as Copper surfaced. Bud and Amy continued their own assaults, and when Copper added his lightning breath to it, it finally became too much. The energy all exploded out from within Libra, streaming up and around his lid and into the sky. Soon it became Noise. After a minute or so, the eruption finally ceased, and Libra collapsed on the ground, his single eye blinking and fading.

"Again…" he mumbled. "I'm…sacrificed…again…"

He was consumed by a flash of red. When it passed, his body had returned to normal, and he had lost consciousness. Bud powered down and walked over to him.

"Nice job, guys," he said. "You go on ahead—I'll catch up in a minute."

He carefully picked Libra up and turned back towards the hospital. Copper said, "Bud…are you sure that's such a good idea? There's no telling what'll happen when he wakes up."

"I'm positive, Detective Copper. Besides, if Sonia were here, I'm sure she'd do the same thing!"

"Even still…"

Taurus materialized in front of him. "Mrrgh! Look, I know it might be a lot to ask right now. But we can't abandon Libra—not again! You saw what living in fear for so long has done to him. We gotta start breaking through that right away!"

"Come on, Detective!" Amy said. "Give him a chance!"

Hesitantly, Copper nodded. Bud thanked him, and then carried Libra towards the hospital, saying, "Don't worry, pal. We'll take care of you now."

* * *

Geo let out a sigh of relief as he finally looked out over Alohaha. "Honestly, I half-expected the whole place to be on fire."

"Seems Dealer decided to leave this place alone this time," Mega said. "That, or that punk we fought was supposed to come here instead. Either way, means the doc made the right choice."

As his allies came through the warp behind him, Geo turned and said, "Let's assemble the program. I'll take it to Strong, and you guys can rest up a bit."

He headed for the ground before anyone could reply. Following him, Pat called, "Hey, wait up! Shouldn't you rest too?"

"We'll see if there's time. WAZA hasn't been able to answer all these attacks going on, so I want to pitch in as soon as the transfer is complete."

The group undid their Wave Change and held their Hunters close to each other. Pat and Hyde both transferred the data they had been carrying to Geo, who combined it with his piece to complete the file and begin decrypting it. While that was going on, he opened a line to AMAKEN. Goodall answered.

"Doctor," he said. "We've made it to Alohaha with the program intact. I'm about to go help Strong install it, and then we can begin transferring the files from HQ as soon as you're ready."

"Excellent!" Goodall said. "Only something like the Environmental System has enough space to store all of WAZA's data. That program will set up a secure connection so that we can make the transfer without any fear of it being intercepted, and I'll monitor it from my Hunter."

"Pardon me," Hyde said, "but how is the situation at AMAKEN?"

"Oh, no need to worry, Jekyll—our enemies are taken care of and Veggie is safe."

Hyde relaxed his shoulders. "Ah, wonderful!"

"What about the other reported attacks?" Geo asked.

"We've made progress," Goodall said, "but there are still a few incidents we haven't been able to wrap up just yet. If you boys are up to it, I can direct you to the nearest site once the transfer is complete."

"Please do! I want to help as much as I can!"

Pat set a hand on Geo's arm. "Geo…don't push yourself too much. That fight wore you out at least as much as it did us."

"Oh…right. I'll be careful, Pat."

His Hunter flashed, so Geo turned towards Alohaha Castle. Pat said, "One second, I'll come with you."

Pat pulled his Hunter aside, giving it a tap. Gemini materialized before him. Immediately, everyone froze.

"…Explain," the FM-ian said.

"It can't be pleasant being cooped up in the Hunter all the time," Pat said. "I thought you might want to get out for a bit."

"And…why now?"

"To say thank you. You helped me in that fight: if you hadn't pushed me, I might not have been able to protect Geo and Rey. I'm really grateful for that."

Gemini turned away. "Hmph. Gratitude is hardly what I require."

Geo looked to Pat. Pat nodded. Nodding back, Geo headed for the castle, with Pat following.

"Hold on," Phantom protested. "Is this a good idea? Shouldn't someone at least keep watch?"

"Thank you for volunteering, Phantom," Hyde said. He slapped his Hunter, spitting Phantom out right next to Gemini. "Do take care."

Hyde was gone before Phantom could formulate an argument. He faced Gemini, sizing up the FM-ian, and then turned away again with a grunt.

"…So," Gemini said. "They tell me you were an FM-ian as well, before you let some primitive machine retune you."

"A past I have left _far_ behind me!" Phantom said. "I've seen nothing to necessitate adjusting my belief that FM-ians are a foolish bunch that I need not associate with."

Gemini paused. "And how do you feel about humans?"

"Hah! They're hardly better! I offer them my time and my sage advice, and they only degrade me!"

"Yes, I've noticed. You must grow quite tired of your arrangement."

Phantom floated a few paces away. "I am biding my time. For now, no better options have presented themselves, so I will play along if I must."

After another short pause, Gemini approached him. "Must you?"

Phantom looked over his shoulder.

"Why must you continue to follow the humans' orders, no matter how little respect they offer you in return? Could you not break free of their bindings and strike back against them?"

"Will you arrive at your point shortly?"

"Heheh, I see you already know. I propose that we work together to take our revenge on the humans. What do you say?"

Phantom narrowed his eyes. "Why on Earth would I agree to work with an FM-ian?"

"Do not compare me to the common stock. For years I manipulated the FM King, instating my will disguised as his across the galaxy. I very nearly took this planet as my own. And from that experience, I, unlike the rest, see the value in your strategic mind, Phantom. You are an ally worth having."

Phantom stared at him for a moment. "…I suppose you wish me to find a way to release you from your own bindings? What makes you think I would have the means?"

"You have their trust. You have access to more than you realize, Phantom. And especially now that we are in a state of crisis, the opportunity to take advantage of that trust will most surely present itself to you."

Phantom turned away as he thought.

With a shrug, Gemini said, "Or, don't. You and I can continue to play our parts for these humans until the day our code falls apart. I do doubt another opportunity like this will present itself…but, think on it if you must. I would not dare shackle the will of a mastermind such as yourself."

Gemini turned and gave Phantom some space. Phantom continued to stare off into the distance, rapidly weighing his options and calculating his risks. And the more he thought, the more a large, sinister grin spread across his face.

* * *

King hummed cheerily to himself as he shuffled his cards, watching data pour across the screen. "Oh, it's just so beautiful! Such vast quantities of Crimson! You made an excellent call, Joker my boy, excellent indeed!"

Joker nodded. "Thank you, Mr. King. I am glad to know your goal is so close to fruition."

"If I may," Heartless interjected. "While we did gather ample Crimson and shake up the general populace, we also lost nearly all of our forces in the process. A single platoon remains. Is this truly the position we want to be in right now?"

"You worry too much, my dear Heartless," King said, waving his hand dismissively. "At least now they've served a purpose, rather than just sitting around idly. The wager was more than worth it in the end."

"If those forces had been worth keeping, they would have survived," Joker said. "Now we have fewer leeches dragging us down."

Heartless gave a short sigh as she crossed her arms. "I'd argue that even pawns have their use, Joker. A scarecrow is all it takes to protect a field. How are we to guard our facilities, understaffed as we are?"

"It is a moot point, Heartless. Everything of value is in this facility. And I am here. There is no reason to worry."

"I concur!" King said. "Don't worry your pretty little head about our defenses, my dear. All will be well, I am certain."

"Very well," Heartless said. "In that case, I withdraw my concerns. So, Mr. King…how do we proceed from here?"

"Ah, that's the proper question." King stopped to stroke his chin. "If we have one platoon left, then I should put them to use. We need only a tiny bit more Crimson—though a margin for error would certainly be appreciated—so it's not as if they require a great challenge…"

Joker and Heartless waited in silence as King continued to think. Eventually, he pulled a card from his deck and grinned at it.

"…Yes, perhaps them. Surely WAZA and Harp Note will continue to harry us here, and it would be rude to not offer them a seat at the table." He threw the card to Heartless. "See to it, Heartless."

She glanced at the card. "As you wish, Mr. King."

Once she was gone, King leaned his face against his palm, turning back to Joker. "With that taken care of…I do wish to be absolutely certain. It is not Harp Note's call that Meteor G answers to?"

"That is impossible," Joker said. "It requires an immovable will to bend Meteor G to one's own ends. As she is, she is utterly incapable of interfering with it to the extent we have witnessed."

"Hmmmmm. And I suppose the same would also go for Ace and Mega Man, even the three of them together." He faced his screen—it immediately switched to show an image of Meteor G. "Once we have enough Crimson, it shouldn't really matter. But…this was unforeseen. As if a new reel has been put into play. It may be presumptuous to assume taking control of Meteor G will be easy when it seems someone else has recently done just that…"

Suddenly, King sat up.

"…Hm. You know, a thought just occurred to me."

Joker inclined his head. "What is it, Mr. King?"

"It seems I may have to wrest control of Meteor G from someone's hands. Now I find myself wondering…whoever holds it now: did they too need to wrest it from someone else?"

Joker thought for a moment. "Until recently, Meteor G has never defied that which has called to it. Drawing upon its strength has been an easy task for those capable, and it has drifted through space with no clear direction. I have seen nothing that would lead me to believe someone was in command of it then."

"But it is not impossible. There could still have been someone watching over it, even if they were not directing it. Someone simply observing it, overseeing it…an Administrator to organize the Meteor Server…" King smiled. "Hoho…I must admit, this is becoming rather thrilling. To think, even once my inevitable victory over WAZA is won, I may well still have one more game to play!"

King spun his chair around, slowly making his way out of the room as Joker stood there lost in thought.

"Yes, how fitting: one final challenge to win the ultimate jackpot. I am ready to play. Care to join me? Harp Note? Hohohohoho!"

* * *

Notes:

-A quick update! Huzzah! Don't think I have any particular notes on this one, so I'll just get to work on 29. Just need to make final preparations and we'll be on to the scenario we've all been waiting for!


	29. Chapter 29

Sonia stopped just inside the doorway. Rosa sat on the bed at the center of the small room, turned the other way and staring out the open window with a distant, longing look in her eye. Fighting off the sinking feeling in her heart, Sonia shook her head a little, put on a smile, and went to her mother's side.

"I'm back, Mama!" she announced happily. "How are you feeling?"

Rosa looked so tired up close. Still, she too put on a smile, answering, "Oh, Sonia! I'm doing a bit better today, actually." Some light gradually came to her face. "So? How did the audition go?"

Sonia giggled, bouncing up and down. "It went great! They loved the song, and want to sign me on next week!"

"Oh! That's wonderful, Sonia! Congratulations!"

Rosa reached out, so Sonia moved in to hug her—she knew she couldn't hold her mother as tightly as she wanted to, so instead she held on as long as she could.

"You really are incredible, you know that?" Rosa said when they finally pulled away. "It isn't easy to get a break like this, especially at your age."

Sonia grinned. "Well, I do my best."

Rosa leaned towards the other side of the bed, reaching over its edge. "I knew you could do it, so I went ahead and got you something to celebrate…"

She pulled out a long box, wrapped neatly with a bow, and handed it to Sonia. Excitedly, Sonia tore off the wrapping and opened it, eyes widening at what was inside: a yellow guitar decorated on the round body by a few pink hearts, with a small screen built into its head.

"I figured it'd be a lot nicer than the old one you've been using," Rosa said. "The really neat thing is that it also functions as a Transer! Though, lugging this around all the time might be a bit of a hassle, so maybe it'd be more useful as a backup."

Sonia shook her head. "No way, I'll definitely use it! Thank you so much, Mama!"

She wanted to hug her again, but had to stop herself. Sitting back, she began to tune the instrument, and Rosa said, "So, tell me about the people at the studio! Do they seem like they'll be easy to work with?"

Sonia tilted her head. "Mmm, most of them seem really nice. Though, the manager I met with…"

Rosa frowned. "Oh. Can you ask for a different manager?"

"I don't want to cause any trouble. Besides, it's just a first impression—maybe he was having a bad day."

"Hopefully. But, if it becomes a problem, don't hesitate to bring it up."

"I'm sure it'll be fine. And even if he is unpleasant, that doesn't mean he's going to stay that way. Everybody can change, right?"

Rosa thought for a moment. "Everyone… _can_ change, yes. But not everyone does."

Sonia looked up.

Reaching out, Rosa set a hand on top of Sonia's head. "It's wonderful that you always believe in others, Sonia—you've always been an incredibly kind person. But, there are some people who don't respond the same way to that kindness…some people who will try to take advantage of it."

"Oh…well, how can I tell if someone's going to change or not?"

"It's not always easy. You just need to watch a person's actions: if they really do want to change, then that'll usually be obvious in what they're doing, or at least what they're _trying_ to do. Others just…don't make an effort to change. And they're the ones you need to be careful around."

Sonia nodded slowly as she absorbed this.

"Ah, that's a little gloomy, isn't it?" Rosa said. "Why don't you play something, Sonia? I love listening to your music."

"Sure!" Sonia said. She readied her guitar, took a moment to decide on a song, and then began to pick at the strings, her worries—for the moment at least—already gone.

* * *

Sonia inhaled sharply as she jolted awake. She leaned forward and yawned, shaking the sleep from her head, and murmured, "Yikes, did I really doze off?"

"It hasn't been long," Lyra said.

Sonia turned to look at her. "…Oh. Good. Thanks."

She faced forward for a moment to collect her thoughts, and then turned back.

"I'm sorry, Lyra. I was kind of being a jerk to you, wasn't I?"

Lyra crossed her arms and glanced aside. "Something of the sort…but I expected you wouldn't take it well."

Sonia stood up and approached her. "Listen…it…might take me a little more time to completely process how I'm feeling. But I won't let it get in the way again. You've been such a good friend to me, Lyra, and I don't want to lose that. You've definitely earned my trust, and whatever happened before…I've seen you work hard to change, and that's what matters most. I'm so sorry I forgot that. I'll work hard to make sure it doesn't happen again."

Lyra first glanced at her. Then, after a moment, she closed her eyes and chuckled, before tuning to face Sonia properly. "That's more like it. Now then: we should hurry to the meeting room. It sounds as though the doctors have made a breakthrough."

"Really? Okay, let's go!"

By the time Sonia reached the room, it was already nearly empty. Goodall, the only one left, looked up from her notes and smiled, saying, "Good to see you up! You really tuckered yourself out cleaning up all those viruses."

"Eheh, sorry I'm late," Sonia said. "Lyra said you found something big?"

Goodall nodded. "By launching so many attacks all over the country, Dealer caused a lot of damage, and undoubtedly collected a great deal of Crimson. But…it also backfired. Veggie and I had been working on analyzing the Noise Waves they use to get around, trying to trace them back to their source. When so many opened all at once, it became quite a bit easier to pinpoint the signal."

Sonia's eyes widened. "You mean…?"

"We've already sent Messie and Detective Copper to verify. But, by all accounts, it seems we've successfully located Dealer's base."

She looked at the floor as she thought it over. "I guess…the next thing to do is to attack them there."

"You should have a day or so to rest. I'd say make the most of it."

"Yeah. I'll…probably have to fight Joker again."

Goodall nodded, letting her gaze wander. "…Sonia. From what I hear, you're a wiz at talking your opponents down, convincing them to see the error of their ways. Many people here believe you could open a dialogue with just about anyone and make them an ally."

Sonia shifted a bit. "I try. And, Dr. Goodall…" She tensed. "I'll do whatever I can…to try to bring Joker back."

Goodall looked at her. "No, Sonia. I was going to tell you that that will never work on Joker."

Sonia furrowed her brow. "…What?"

"I'm sure you've seen by now. Maybe you think your anger is blinding you, but I can tell you for certain that's not all it is. Joker is stubborn. Unmoving. Much as I would love it if he would come home…if you spend your time trying to sway Joker rather than fight him, he will kill you. He will not change."

The contradiction of her feelings gave Sonia a good deal of pause. On a deep, instinctive level, she wanted to prove Goodall wrong, to not give up on that ideal solution. But at the same time, there was a visceral emotion ready to agree with the doctor's words. They came together in a sickly mix that silenced Sonia. She couldn't deny Goodall's point, but she hated the idea of just accepting it.

"Rest for now," Goodall said, slowly working her way out of her seat. "Whatever happens, you'll need to be at your best."

Sonia stood there thinking until a beep came from her guitar. Checking the screen, she realized she had missed a few messages—mostly from Luna. She quickly checked the most recent and then ran downstairs to the lobby. There, Luna, Zack, Bud, Amy, Geo, Pat, Claude, and Kidd had gathered; upon spotting them, she bolted straight for Luna and hugged her.

"I'm so glad you're all okay!" Sonia said. "Sorry I didn't respond sooner."

"It's alright," Luna said. "How are you? I heard you fought Joker."

"I'm fine. A little banged up, but I've been through worse. Did you all hear about what Dr. Goodall found?"

"We did," Geo said. "Mr. Boreal is preparing a team to attack once Detective Copper verifies the location, and—"

Jumping forward, Claude interrupted, "And we wanna help!"

"Yes," Kidd said, "we returned with Geo because we want to offer you our help in finishing Dealer."

Sonia turned towards them. "Guys…I appreciate it, but this is going to be really dangerous. We're talking about walking right up to Dealer's front door. There's no telling what they have ready for us."

"That's exactly why we have to be as ready as we can be!" Claude said. "The more of us there are, the more ready we are! You gotta let us come! We want to contribute, to make up for…"

He trailed off, looking off to the side in embarrassment. Kidd finished, "When Lord Strong was corrupted…we were useless. We were so shocked that we did not even try to help him. We wish to redeem ourselves."

"Redeem?" Sonia repeated. "You can't blame yourselves for the way you reacted: it was a scary thing. There's no need to make up for it."

"Sonia, please!" Claude said. "We have to do this! Aren't we still Brothers?"

Sonia hesitated. Geo said, "I think we should give them a chance. There'll be plenty of us there to protect them if anything happens, and with how far they've come, they really will be a big help."

She sighed. "…Alright. But if things get hairy, promise me you two will get out of there safely, alright?"

"You got it!" Claude said. "We'll make you proud, Sonia!"

Despite herself, Sonia smiled a little. A tug on her sleeve drew her attention back to Luna.

"I want to come to," Luna said.

Before Sonia even had a chance, Ophiuca said, "No. You still need more time, Luna. We can't go."

Sonia took Luna by the shoulder, cutting off her retort. After asking the others for a minute, the two of them walked outside of the building, finding an isolated bench, and Luna sat down while Sonia remained standing in front of her. Luna said, "I promised you I would fight alongside you. I'm not going to break that promise, not now!"

"That was before…" Sonia began, but stopped. "Luna, the circumstances have changed _a lot_ since then. I'm not going to hold you to it now that we know how it'll hurt you."

"I've gotten better, Sonia. I can do this."

"No," Ophiuca said, "you can't. You tried during the attack earlier, and it was too much for you, Luna."

"H-Hey, that was…" Luna looked down and fidgeted. "I just…I'm still not okay with the thought of sending you off without me. I want to be there to help you, Sonia."

Sonia crouched down and gently took her hands. "I know. But right now, what you most need to do is take the time you need to heal. Otherwise you'll only end up suffering even more. I won't let that happen."

"But if we don't stop Dealer and Meteor G, what does it even matter?"

Squeezing her hand a little, Sonia said, "Come on, have a little confidence in me!"

Luna scowled, unsure how to argue.

"How about this. Since circumstances have changed, it's okay to change the promise a little. What we really want is for each other to be safe, right? For you, right now, that means letting yourself heal. And for me, I just need to do what I always do and come back. We'll both promise to do those things for each other. Okay?"

Luna gazed into Sonia's eyes, her own face gradually softening. "…That's not how I wanted this to go."

Sonia nodded, giving a gentle sigh. "I know."

Luna looked off to the side. "I guess there's not much I can do if Ophiuca isn't willing to Wave Change with me. So…as long as you promise to come back…"

"I do."

"…Fine. I'll focus on getting better. But I want to hear from you the moment your job is done!"

Sonia smiled. "Of course! I'll hurry back knowing that you're here waiting for me."

Luna just blushed. Pulling at Sonia's hands a little, she leaned forward, and Sonia gave her a kiss.

"Everything will be okay, Luna," Sonia said. "It's almost over."

Sonia stood, still holding onto Luna's hands. Luna stared at them sadly. "…Can we just…sit here, for a little bit? Together?"

Sonia kissed Luna's forehead, and then sat down next to her. "Of course."

Luna let go of Sonia's hands, but kept one arm hooked around Sonia's. Sonia pulled out her guitar and began to play for Luna; without realizing it, she found herself playing her newest piece, the one that she still hadn't found lyrics for.

 _I'm closer. I almost understand what I was trying to say…but, I'm still not there yet._

So she forgot about trying to put words to the tune, and simply played it for Luna. It wasn't long at all before the both of them smiled.

* * *

"So," Cygnus said, "they've been hunting you as well?"

On the other side of the room, Libra floated quietly, not bothering to answer.

"I've had quite a few close encounters with them myself. Seems these Dealers have quite a fondness for FM-ians, for whatever reason—it's rather peculiar, don't you think?"

"Um," Dubius said, "m-maybe we should leave him be, Cygnus. It sounds like they put him through a lot."

They all turned as the door opened, seeing Shepar step into the room. He immediately locked eyes with Libra.

"You?" Libra said. "Oh, I see."

"…I heard about what happened," Shepar said. "I'm sorry you've been put through so much trouble, Libra."

"Oh of course, of course. You show a little concern, and I just happily agree to go to war alongside you—is that how this is meant to go?"

"I'm being genuine. You've had it rough, and—"

"Stop!" Libra said as he came forward. "Just stop this nonsense! I won't be dragged into another fight! I've spent my entire life as a pawn for some force or another, and I've had my fill of it! No more! Do you hear me?"

Shepar nodded. "…Alright. I'm sorry for bothering you."

He turned back towards the door. Libra blinked. Before Shepar could leave, he said, "Wait, that's it?"

"If you don't want to fight, then I'm not going to force you to," Shepar said, facing him again. "We didn't bring you here to be a pawn, Libra: we wanted to keep you safe, and to see if you were interested in helping stop Dealer. I can see that you're not. So, I'll leave you be."

"…I don't understand. If you're here, doesn't that mean _you_ want to fight? And you're giving up just like that?"

"I'm not giving up. I'd rather go in with Wave Change, since that seems to be what's most useful, but I need a partner to do that. There'll be something else I can do, I'm sure of it."

"You're that desperate? Oh, for the children, is that it? Then why would you actually consider working with me? I'm the one who endangered them the last time we met!"

Shepar shook his head. "That wasn't all you. It was also my fault. They forgave me, gave me a chance to regain their trust…so it's only right I give you that same chance. That's the way I see it."

Libra didn't know what to say. Shepar left then, and the FM-ian looked back at the wall.

"Hmph," he muttered. "I will never understand you humans. Think you can get whatever you want without sacrifice, do you? Some things are just beyond your control."

With a squawk, Cygnus shouted, "For goodness sake, _enough_!"

Glaring over his shoulder, Libra asked, "What?"

"You may very well be the _only_ FM-ian still wrapped up in their own self-loathing, do you know that? You pride yourself on your intelligence, yet you still haven't realized how that wrapping blinds you—even _Taurus_ got it before you did! Open your eyes, fool!"

"What do you know?! You weren't made a tool of Dealer!"

"Yes, I haven't experienced the _exact_ same life as you, so why listen to me? Why listen to anyone other than yourself? Sacrifice all other input so you can keep believing the same mantra you've always chanted under your breath! Continue to bemoan the lack of control you have, refusing to see the opportunity _right in front of you_ to take control back!"

Libra shrunk a bit, not saying a word. Dubius said, "Cygnus! You don't need to be so harsh, he—"

"You're only running away, Libra. Do that if you wish, but at the very least be honest about it." To Dubius, he said, "There, I'm done."

He dematerialized. Dubius stood there a moment, glancing uneasily at the silent Libra, before deciding it was best to just leave him alone.

Not too far away, Shepar had made his way back to lobby, where Wolfe stood staring intently at his Hunter. He looked up and asked, "How'd it go?"

"Libra's not up to it," Shepar said. "Can't say that I blame him…guess I'd better talk to Mr. Boreal about what else I can do."

"Maybe I should come with you. I haven't made much progress either."

"Damn right," Wolf snapped. "I already told you: if I ain't allowed to kill Corvus, then there's no point in joining in! So let's get the hell out of here already!"

Shepar turned to leave, stopping when he saw Mega floating across the lobby. The AM-ian said, "There you are, Wolf. Thought I smelled you."

Wolf materialized with his fangs bared. "And what do you want, Mega? Come to give me the same spiel as this guy?"

"That depends. Has he been telling you to get your head out of your ass and move on?"

"Screw you!"

"No, screw you! You're off sulking about how you bad want to kill Corvus, while the rest of us are here risking our hides to stop Dealer from wrecking this whole world! That ain't like you, Wolf: the killing part, or running off with your tail between your legs. So snap the hell out of it already!"

"Rrrrgh…you serious, Mega? After what that guy pulled, you're willing to just let it go? Give up any chance for revenge? I'm not about to—"

Uninterested in letting him finish, Mega slashed him across the face with his claws. "I said _snap out of it_!"

Wolf's eyes gleamed. He pounced on Mega, knocking him to the ground and digging in with his own claws as he snapped his teeth. Mega slammed an elbow into his ear, dazing him, and then punched him off, locking an arm around Wolf's neck and struggling to keep hold of him. Wolfe and Shepar watched nervously, not sure if they should intervene.

"You know what I think?" Mega grunted. "I think the only reason you're so obsessed with getting revenge on Corvus is because him betraying you was the most painful thing you've ever felt!"

Wolf gnashed his teeth, trying with all his might to wriggle free of Mega's grip. Mega kept hold of him.

"You really cared about Corvus! And finding out he was willing to go so far as to try to kill you is something you were too scared to even try to cope with! Even now, you're just scared!"

"Shut up!" Wolf shouted. "You don't know a damn thing, Omega-Xis!"

Wolf tried to buck Mega loose. Mega barely managed to hang on, and then threw all his weight against Wolf, smashing his face down into the floor.

"I know plenty about you, pal! And I know how it feels to lose the people you care about! It's been years already: time to face facts! You gotta move on!"

"I'm not moving on 'til I kill him! If that's all I mean to him, then I'll show him that's all he means to me too!"

"Hurt him the way he hurt you?"

"Why the hell not?! What else am I supposed to do with this…" His words devolved into a snarl. He continued to thrash against Mega's hold, though not quite as strongly as before.

"Listen up, idiot. No matter how much you hurt, hurting someone else isn't gonna do any good. Shaking people up is one thing, but if you just wanna hurt folks, then there's no difference between you and a damn virus."

Wolf finally grew still.

"That what you told—"

"I know, dumbass, I was there!"

"Then take your own damn advice!"

Wolf growled quietly. "…Easier said than done…"

"I know it is. But you gotta do it, Wolf. You gotta move on."

Gradually, Wolf's growls faded away. Mega let go of him and floated a few steps back. Wolf shook himself and glared at the floor. "…We were partners, Corvus and I. For a long, long time. I really thought that meant something…"

Mega crossed his arms. "Eh. I never liked the guy to start with."

Wolf grumbled, turning and walking past him. He glanced at Wolfe, growled to himself, and then turned back to Mega. "Alright, fine. If you want me to help tear apart Dealer's base or whatever, I'll help…and if I see Corvus, I won't kill him. Not on purpose, at least. I'm gonna beat the shit out of him a little, but I'll let up eventually."

"Guess that's as good an answer as I can expect from you. I'll hold you to it."

"Yeah, yeah…"

Wolf walked up to Wolfe. The human looked down at him thoughtfully, saying, "…Hey, Wolf, I—"

"Can we just go home?" Wolf interrupted. "I'm not prepared for any more touchy-feely crap right now, give me a break…"

Wolfe smiled. Tapping his Hunter, he recalled Wolf, and then turned to Mega. "Thank you, Omega-Xis. I'll be waiting for more information on our plan of attack."

As he left, Mega turned to Shepar, who was staring at him in disbelief. "…What?"

After a short pause, Shepar laughed. "Well, I guess different things work for different people…"

Mega looked off to the side. Shepar turned to see Libra entering the lobby.

"…Hello, Omega-Xis," Libra said.

"Been wondering when you'd turn up again," Mega said.

Libra hummed and turned to Shepar. "…So. You will truly allow me to not fight if I so desire?"

"That's right," Shepar said.

"In that case…I will help you."

Shepar jumped. "Wh…really? I mean, you really don't have to if you don't want to."

"Ultimately, I suppose what matters is that I'm given the choice. And if so…then Cygnus is right. This is an opportunity to take some control over my life, and I would be a fool to waste it. You are about to topple Dealer, are you not? That is something I would very much like to take part in."

"Well…if you're sure. Alright, then! Glad to have you on the team, Libra."

Libra nodded. "Yes. Let us do our best together…ah…"

"Hah, I guess it has been a while. Call me Mitch!"

"…Mitch. Thank you."

Libra and Shepar soon left the room, and Mega let out a sigh. "Some EM beings are such high maintenance. Geo's lucky I'm so easy to get along with."

* * *

Vega leaned back from the microscope, running a hand over her face and mumbling something. Pushing out her chair, she turned to stand up, but froze when she saw Hyde off to the side of the room.

"How long have you been here?" she asked.

Hyde shrugged. "Oh, I don't have the exact time. You seemed busy, and I would hate to interrupt you, so I simply waited. Still studying the Crimson?"

Vega just grunted and made her way across the room.

"Ah, so the answer is still not forthcoming."

"I suppose I shouldn't be all that surprised," Vega said. "This is, by nature, a corrupted EM wave—it's bizarre that it's able to serve any purpose whatsoever. I've almost gotten a handle on the structures and properties of Noise, but I'm not quite there yet."

"Your zeal is most admirable, Lady Vega. But if I may, you seem just a tad overworked. Perhaps it would be best to place the matter on hold for a time?"

Vega shook her head. "I can't do that. Anything we find out could prove essential to stopping Dealer and controlling Meteor G. And beside that…I can't help but feel a bit responsible. If Dealer hadn't stolen my EM wave collection device, they likely wouldn't be as far along in their Crimson harvesting as they are."

"Come now, we have no way of knowing that," Hyde said as he walked over. "And the keyword is 'stolen'—it's not as if you gave it to them. Designing a technology hardly makes you responsible for those who misuse it."

"My original intentions for the device were hardly pure either."

"…Well…"

Before Hyde could think of anything, the door to the lab opened. Solo stopped after taking just one step inside.

"Oh…Solo," Vega said. "Did you need something?"

Solo stared back at her, his expression unreadable. "…Just looking around." He turned to leave.

"Solo, wait," Vega said, taking a few steps closer. "I've been wanting to speak with you. I never got the chance to properly apologize."

Solo said nothing, but he didn't leave.

"I misused Mu for my own gain…and that ultimately led to its destruction. I know it helps nothing, but I am truly sorry for what I've done to you."

Solo turned the other way. "…I learned a great deal more about Mu as a result of your meddling." He clutched his left shoulder. "And I gained a very…useful…partner…so I see no reason to begrudge you. Worry about Dealer instead."

Hearing this, Vega smiled a little. It was at that point that Ace made his way into the room, saying, "That's the kind of talk I like to hear! I knew you'd be a perfect fit, Solo."

The boy groaned. Hyde rolled his eyes, saying, "Ah, Ace. I see you're not dead after all."

Ace grinned. "Heh, not yet! And what luck: soon as I get out the hospital, I find out we've tracked down Dealer's new base! I wanted to start arranging things for our attack right away!"

"Hm, yes," Vega said, her enthusiasm already draining, "you're always right on top of that."

Losing his grin, Ace eyed Vega a moment before turning back to Hyde. "First of all, Hyde. We'll be taking a lot of people with us, so I'm planning to divide our forces and launch a multi-pronged assault. Assuming that's what happens, there's something very important I want you to do."

Hyde tapped his fingers against his cane. "And that would be…?"

Ace raised his Hunter. "No matter what happens, stay close to Pat and Rey. I'll give you access to the restraints in Gemini's Real Wave Body, so that if anything happens while I'm not there, you'll be able to stop him from hurting them."

Rubbing his chin, Hyde said, "Hm, I see. I suppose you would want someone with official WAZA credentials to hold onto that access key, and the good Detective will likely be scouting about, as that is Plesio's specialty. Perhaps—"

"Oh, just take it, you long-winded fool," Phantom said. "The only thing better than having an FM-ian in chains is being the one who holds their key!"

Hyde grumbled a bit, holding up his own Hunter. Ace transferred the access key, and then turned to Vega to say something—but stopped when he realized Solo was gone. "Uh, be right back."

Ace ran out into the hall and spotted Solo rounding a corner. He called out to the boy as he went to catch up, and rather surprisingly, Solo waited for him.

"Hey, what's the rush? I just wanted to double-check: you'll be joining us when we raid Dealer's base, right?"

"Of course," Solo said. "What they've stolen is most certainly there. I will finally retrieve it, and claim my long-awaited victory against Joker in the process."

"Oh, good! We'll be in much better shape with you on our side. I wasn't sure if Sonia would ask—she's always ready to help others, but she doesn't seem to like the idea of asking others to help her."

Solo averted his gaze.

"So I'm curious…what will you do after you've gotten back whatever they took?"

He gritted his teeth. "I don't know. What are _you_ going to do when this is over?"

Ace looked up as he thought. "Hm…to be honest, I don't really know either. Destroying Dealer is all I've wanted for a while now. I'm not so sure there is anything else for me to do." He paused. "You still don't really want to work with others, huh?"

"Of course not! I'll do what's necessary, but once Dealer is dismantled I'll have no further use for any of you!"

"Hm…is that so?"

"You doubt it?"

"It sounds to me like you're trying really hard to maintain your act."

Whirling, Solo said, "And what do you know?!"

"About putting on an act? Plenty. I've been trying to lose myself in one ever since leaving Dealer." Ace's eyes fell to the floor. "Course, mine still needs a lot of work. I thought if I talked like I was some kind of hero, like I was following Sonia's example, I could save the people I cared about…and that's looking less and less likely."

Solo scoffed at him. "You people are always putting Harp Note on a pedestal. Acting like she's some flawless saint…I've seen her stumble and fall. She's just as human as the rest of you, and it baffles me that you can't see that."

Ace looked up at him.

"Be inspired by her if you want," Solo said as he turned back around, "but if you're trying to reshape your entire self in her image, then you're the biggest fool I've ever met. Make your own decisions every once in a while! Even Harp Note doesn't always make the right call."

And then he was off. Ace stood there a moment thinking; after a time, though, he found himself smiling.

"Heh…you know? That actually makes me feel a little better."

* * *

Notes:

-Thank God I've finally got some motivation.

-I really wanted to bring Luna along for the next scenario, but I just don't feel like enough time has passed for her to have realistically dealt with her shock. Not that "realism" is ever my utmost priority, but with these sorts of things, I feel it is a little important. You'll get 'em next time, Prez.

-Ace saying "Not yet" is probably too on the nose, huh? …I'm gonna keep it anyway.

-Next chapter will kick off the attack on Dealer's base! I'm hoping to get it out before the end of the month, and then hopefully conclude that scenario by the end of July (33 chapters?) and complete Red Joker by the end of August (38 chapters?). Right now it's looking good, but…if I get complacent it could all fall apart, so I'm gonna need to tread carefully. Anyway. See you next time!


	30. Chapter 30

The Satella Officers filed out the other side of the room as Sonia came in. A crowd of humans and EM beings followed behind her, quickly filling the room back up, so she moved fast to get a seat at the front. Boreal adjusted some papers as he waited for everyone, and then cleared his throat and turned to the screen to his side.

"As you no doubt already know, due to the hard work of Doctors Goodall and Vega, we have located Dealer's base."

An image appeared on the screen: a non-descript concrete bunker built at the bottom of a massive canyon.

"Detective Copper retrieved these images," Boreal continued, "but it was decided that any closer inspection would run the risk of alerting Dealer to our discovery, which would set us back to square one. Unfortunately, this means we don't have much for you to go on. We must attack while we have the opportunity, but I urge you all to proceed with the utmost caution."

"We'll be going in with our best Satella Officers as support," Copper said. "They're going to divide into squads and attack the facility from various angles to probe for opposition. As for all of you…you'll be breaking down the front gate."

"Sounds good to me!" Mega said. "Nice and simple!"

"Just like you, Mega," Lyra said.

"What about you, Detective?" Geo asked as Mega grumbled to himself. "Are you coming with us?"

"I've got a different objective," Copper said. "With Plesio's skills, he and I should be able to properly scope out the interior of the facility, and relay that information to everyone's Hunters so you know what you're getting into before you get to it. If anyone needs help, though, don't hesitate to let us know."

"Once we're inside, I'm sure Dealer will have something waiting to greet us," Ace said. "We may be surprising them, but King is always prepared. However, we can't waste time playing his game. A select group of us is going to focus on tracking down Joker, and we'll need to save all our strength for that—if it becomes necessary, the rest of you may have to buy us the time we need."

"What about Jack and Tia?" Sonia asked. "Do we have a plan for them?"

"Judging by what they said when they escaped," Copper answered, "it sounds like those two are no longer interested in working for Dealer. Of course, we can't be too sure—you'll all need to keep your eyes peeled. But we feel there's not enough reason to expect them to be there."

Bud raised his hand. "Um, excuse me. Who exactly is on the team to go after Joker?"

"I'll be leading it," Ace said. "I know how King likes to organize his bases, so I'm confident I'll be able to get us to him. I'm going to need Sonia and Geo's help, and I know Solo wants another shot at the guy…"

Solo, leaning against the back corner of the room with his arms crossed, just hummed.

"And, with luck, that'll be all we need."

Bud clenched his fists. "Ace…I request to be added to that team!"

This made Ace pause. Eventually, he said, "I'm not so sure that's the best idea."

"I can do it!" Bud said, shooting to his feet. "I've gotten a lot stronger, and I'm sure I can help you guys take him on!"

"You're definitely one of our heavy-hitters, Bud. But, I was thinking it might be best if one of our heavy-hitters stays with the larger group, to help them out."

"I'm sure they'll be fine. Please, let me help fight Joker!"

Ace looked to Boreal, who said, "I know you're eager, Bud. But with the way Joker utilizes Noise to fight, we're not sure it'll be safe for anyone without a Noise Control Program to take him on—not if he unleashes his full power. Solo's got his own protection, but we're not sure if your Noise Filter will keep you safe."

Bud thought a moment. "Then, uh, shouldn't we test it out? If the Noise Filter is going to become standard-issue, you need to know its limits, right?"

Boreal sighed. Goodall chuckled, saying, "Oh, give him a chance. If it proves to be too much for the Filter, surely he can still help you secure the area."

"Yeah!" Bud said, nodding furiously. "If the Filter's a bust, I'll hang back and find something else to do! I—"

"Alright, alright," Boreal said. "Ace?"

With a slow nod, Ace said, "Okay, Bud. But you've got to keep a close eye on your Filter, alright?"

"Definitely!" Bud said. "Thank you so much! I won't let you down!"

He bounced happily until Amy tapped his arm, reminding him to sit. Geo raised his hand next, saying, "One other thing. After what happened at the studio, Ace…should you really come into contact with Joker? What if he tries forcing you to Finalize again?"

Ace scratched his head, glancing sideways at Boreal. "Yeah, that…I actually have my own request, Chief."

"Hm?" Boreal said. "What is it?"

"Well…I want Acid's restrictions to be removed."

Boreal stared at him blankly. "…What?"

"The reason we went nuts was because we couldn't control the Finalization—because the restrictions make that impossible. So I want to make sure that doesn't happen again."

"But you could still lose control, Ace. And that would just make the situation even worse, with you fully Finalized!"

"Hah, if that were to happen, I'm sure Joker would knock me flat before I had the chance to do any real harm."

"I'm not convinced of that. Besides, that would also disable the safety lock: your Wave Change won't deactivate on its own no matter how much stress it puts on your body."

"It's the final battle, Chief! What better time to take the extra risk?"

Boreal shook his head, but then paused. Turning, he said, "Sonia, Geo. You two had to deal with this situation last time, so I want to know what you think."

The two of them exchanged a look. Geo was first, saying, "Well…from what I understand, it sounds like there'll be less of a chance of him going berserk if we remove the restrictions. And even without the safety…if the stress pushes his body too far, I'm sure he'll still…"

"He'll be too broken to be a threat before too long," Mega finished. Geo looked down and began to fidget.

"You're right," Ace said. "I won't be able to cope with the damage very well if I'm not in control. Even if I pose a problem, it won't be for very long."

Sonia could feel everyone looking at her now. She thought back to the incident, and to her fight with Joker, and tried to weigh them against each other. She stopped when she remembered Ace fainting.

"…It'll be risky for us, sure," Sonia said. "But no matter what happens, Ace and Acid are the ones who have to really deal with the consequences. So…I think it should be their choice."

Boreal glanced over at Goodall and Vega. Neither said a word. Ultimately turning back to Ace, he said, "Ace…I want to be sure you've thought this through."

"I had a lot of time to do just that, Chief," Ace said.

"And Acid?"

"There are no guarantees," Acid said. "However, I find I largely agree with Ace's assessment. I have been backed-up, so the situation poses little threat to me—I will go along with his decision."

Ace looked to his Hunter. "Hey, none of that talk! Back-up or no, what happens to you matters, buddy."

"…Thank you, Ace. I will retain my stance nonetheless."

Boreal ground his teeth, tapping his fingers against the podium for a very long time before finally speaking. "Fine. If you're both sure about this…then I'll approve your request."

"Thanks, Chief," Ace said. "You won't regret it!"

"That brings up another point. As this is going to be a very dangerous assignment, we wanted to offer all EM beings the chance to have their data backed up as a precaution. If you need some time to think, that's fine, just talk to one of the doctors before you leave."

Geo turned to Mega. The AM-ian shrugged, saying, "Eh, not exactly sporting if you ask me. Besides, if they can't make a Wizard without super-compressing the waves, I'm not confident in their ability to restore me if I needed it."

"I concur," Lyra said. "And it'd be a bit unfair, don't you think? Our partners have no such opportunity. I'm willing to take the same risks."

"I appreciate where you're coming from," Sonia said, "but are you sure? I don't want to—"

"Perish the thought, dear. We'll make it out just fine in the end, so it's really a moot point, don't you think?"

Sonia realized Luna was staring at her nervously from the next seat. Squeezing her hand a little, she said, "…Right. We'll be fine."

"I think that covers it," Boreal said. "If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask. You'll be departing shortly. I wish you all the best of luck."

* * *

The bunker looked a fair bit larger in person. From where they stood behind the cover of a rocky outcropping, Sonia gazed intently at the base, taking the time to steel herself for whatever was waiting inside.

"How are you feeling?"

She turned to see Ace standing there. Looking back at the base, she answered, "A little nervous, I guess. But I'm ready for this to be over. What about you?"

Ace breathed deeply. "I have to admit, there's something vaguely surreal about it. I can't help but think that if I never made it out, I'd be here right now, about to defend it from all of you alongside Joker." He chuckled. "I'd hate it here. Not much of a yard."

Sonia laughed a little. "On the bright side, you wouldn't have to deal with noisy neighbors, at least." A short silence passed over them. "Hey, Ace. I never asked: what was it that made you decide to leave Dealer?"

"Well, to be honest…it was you."

She turned back to face him. "What?"

"When the FM-ians launched their full-scale invasion of Earth, King picked up on their transmission. I heard it, and I was prepared to mobilize against the FM-ians, ready to do whatever it took to defend the Earth. King told us to just sit tight. That really confused me—I was raised to think that Dealer was doing the right thing, that there was some very important end we were all working towards…but what kind of goal did we have that we weren't willing to even try to protect the Earth? It didn't make any sense to me. While I was busy trying to work that out, you went ahead and actually saved the planet."

Ace looked up at the sky.

"After that, I was constantly questioning if what we were doing was right. Slowly starting to see that it wasn't. And when Mu showed up in the sky, and again King said we weren't to do anything about it, and you reappeared to take care of that problem too…I realized that I couldn't stay with Dealer. We had the power to help the world, but King had clearly shown he was willing to let it burn. It was hard, but in the end, I decided I didn't want to help a guy like that, even if he was the one that raised me."

He smiled at Sonia.

"But you? You always use your power to help people. You're a real hero, Sonia, and I knew you'd be able to stop King from enacting his plans. I knew your team was the one I belonged on."

Sonia needed a moment to take his words in. When they settled, she said, "I think…you're giving me a little too much credit, Ace. But thanks. I'll try not to let you down."

Ace headed back towards the group. Sonia took one last look at the bunker before following him, thinking, _I thought King wanted to control the world. Why would he be okay with Planet FM destroying it, or Dr. Vega taking it over before him? There must be something I'm missing…_

"Alright, team!" Ace said. "This is it! We'll rush the door at my signal!"

Everyone gathered around, all of them but Ace Wave Changing in preparation. Copper sank into the ground and headed off, and Ace held up his hand, watching the time on his Hunter to give the detective a proper head start. Sonia tightened her grip on her guitar. She glanced over the others—Geo, Pat, Rey, Bud, Amy, Claude, Kidd, Wolfe, Shepar, Dubius, Hyde. Nervous as some of them looked, she could tell they were all ready for this. She nodded to herself.

 _I guess it doesn't matter. We're finishing this here and now. Dealer doesn't get to hurt anyone else after today._

"Go!"

Twelve Wave Changed humans bore down upon Dealer's door, Ace bringing up the rear with only his gun. Bud made it there first, tackling the entryway head-on, and plowed straight through as if the door wasn't even there. The massive room beyond was every bit as dreary as the exterior: giant glass tubes filled with Crimson lined the walls, connected by thick pipes to a great machine in the center that rattled incessantly. Alarms sounded as the others rushed in. A light atop the machine shimmered, and it fired a spread of laser beams at the intruders; Amy slid forward and threw up a wall of ice, blocking the shots, while Pat and Rey ran around it and towards the machine. Carefully dodging the blasts, they got high enough to fry the mechanism with electricity, and then shouted down that it was clear. Everyone fanned out in an instant.

"Don't hit that thing too hard," Ace said. "We don't want this much raw Crimson floating around. Now, which way is forward?"

"There's a door up here!" called Dubius, landing on a balcony. "I don't see a good way up, though…"

"Can you give me a boost?"

As Dubius flew down to where Ace was, Hyde teleported right up to the door and stabbed his cane through the lock. The door swung open slowly, and as it did, a card fell from above it—a king of clubs. With a yell, Hyde leapt away. The central machine flashed, and tiny cracks appeared along its surface to allow Noise to stream out of containment, very nearly hitting Pat and Rey in the process; it all streamed through the air straight to the card, forming around it into a very large body. The balcony collapsed under its weight as it solidified into the visage of Club Strong.

"Strong?!" Geo said. "No, he's definitely still back in Alohaha…"

"It must be the Noise," Lyra said. "It would seem King found a way to use the data it contains to reconstruct the beings it corrupted."

Sonia looked to Claude and Kidd. They stared wide-eyed at the replica, struck silent for a moment. Then, after nodding to each other, they got into their battle stances and moved in. Sonia and Geo readied to help them, but Ace held out a hand.

"We need to save our strength," Ace said. "Let the others handle this."

"I'm sure we can spare a little!" Sonia said.

"That's not a risk we can take. Just focus on getting past Strong."

Kidd shot a blast while forming a doppelganger to give him a boost. Strong shrugged off the shot and spotted Kidd flying towards him, but Claude's pincers smacked him in the knees before he could do anything—Kidd kicked Strong in the face, but it didn't do much. The boys regrouped as Strong pulled back his club. Wolfe bounded forward, and in a flash, extended his claws to cut apart the weapon, leaving Strong open for an attack from Hyde. Noise streamed over to Strong to repair his club, but once that was done, the corrupted waves began to flow to another corner of the room. Shepar watched them go, and spotted another distortion forming behind the group.

"There's more of them!" he shouted, summoning a few weights.

The Noise formed into Spade Magnes, a swipe of his sword just barely blocked thanks to Shepar. A blast of water consumed him, and Amy quickly froze it, giving them enough time to reassess the situation—and it was now they noticed a third body forming on the other side of the room, emerging as Diamond Ice.

"Like I said," Ace reminded Sonia, "just move forward. Trust the others to handle this!"

Sonia scanned the room. The others had recovered from the initial surprise and were ready to deal with these foes, rapidly conferring with each other to get their strategies laid out. With effort, she set her concern aside and focused on the door behind Strong.

"Let's roll," she said.

Geo and Solo were able to get there quickly thanks to their teleportation abilities. Dubius had carried Ace into the air, and now was just waiting for an opportunity to deposit him, while Bud breathed out a puff of flame and ran forward. Claude and Kidd were still drawing Strong's attention, so it wasn't until Bud was bounding up the rubble to where the door was that he noticed them. Strong spun and raised his weapon, and Sonia fired her strings at it—she pulled herself through the air and over Strong's head, distracting him further, and Claude smacked an enlarged pincer into one side of his face while Kidd threw his all into a heavy punch at his ankle. The behemoth toppled over on his side, and Dubius quickly set Ace down and turned around to join the fray.

"Alright," Ace said. "No more delays: get going!"

The five of them ran for it. Sonia could hear the battle raging on behind them, and though she wanted to turn back, she did not.

 _I don't know if we need to save our strength quite this badly, but…Ace is right. I should trust them._

She sighed heavily, willing her worries to step aside. And then she kept running.

* * *

King stared up at the screen: on one side, it depicted the battle taking place in the Crimson refinery, and on the other, he could see Sonia's team moving through a corridor. Stroking his chin, the man hummed quietly and just watched until he heard the door open.

"Mr. King," Joker said, striding forward. "Do we really have intruders?"

"Indeed we do," King said, turning his chair around. "It would seem WAZA has found us out at last. Right now, Harp Note is on her way here."

"Allow me to deal with them," Joker said. "I will expel them from this place."

"In time, my boy, in time. As I said, they are coming to us. No need to run around in a panic."

Heartless entered the room next. King gestured to the giant roulette wheel on the wall behind him, and she nodded, making her way over to it.

"Heartless and I will wait within the vault as a precaution. You, Joker, are to wait right here: I want to have a front row seat to see you best our enemy's royal flush."

"As you wish, Mr. King," Joker said. "I hope it shall prove entertaining to you."

The wheel opened from the wall on a hinge, revealing a relatively small room beyond. Heartless and King made their way inside, the latter saying, "I am doubtless it will, Joker! You always put on the most thrilling performances. Ho ho ho ho!"

The door swung shut and sealed itself. Joker turned around, staring down the room as he waited for his opponents to arrive.

 _Harp Note…Ace…Rogue…bring as many as you desire. I will crush each and every one of you using the power of Meteor G. Acid shall finally join me, and we shall be free to use our power as we please. I will enact the will of nature and see the weak perish…and prove to you that it was no mistake to grant me this strength, mother._

* * *

Notes:

-Cutting it kind of close, but I made it before the end of the month!

-Something I was planning but might not get to show: I thought it would be neat if the Satella Officers upgraded their weapons to models based on the Acid Blaster. They already use Battle Cards, so a weapon that's better able to direct those would be very useful, plus it would be a logical result of observing Acid Ace's performance.

-Slowly working through the Noise machine's Cyber Core probably would've been a boring read, and I wanted to have something justifying the complete roster of Project-TC being filled in. Moving some of the rematches here seemed like the best answer. I won't be doing rematches for the bosses I added, though—I think these three will be enough to keep everyone busy here, and Jack and Tia are the only ones we really need later on, anything more would just feel like busy work. We're gonna wait a little longer to find out what Solo's looking for.

-The platform King uses in the game to avoid something like a massive explosion was…unconvincing, I felt. So here I'm going to give him a proper panic room to stay out of the crossfire and, uh, whatever comes next. Makes more sense. He'll still get in some pre-battle taunting, though.

-Now to see how long it takes me to work out these battles in a satisfying manner…


	31. Chapter 31

Copper moved silently through the halls of Dealer's base, doing his best to put together a map of the facility while keeping his eyes and ears peeled for any sign of trouble. He carefully poked into a few rooms, finding nothing of particular interest in any of them. Thus far, he'd yet to encounter even the slightest resistance…and that struck him as odd.

 _This place is a ghost town. I remember Ace saying there were only a handful of operatives left, but I still expected more Wizards and viruses. Did they really use all of them up in the recent attacks? And if they're that willing to throw their forces away, then—_

"I thought I sensed something over here…"

Copper started. He quickly sank into the floor as footsteps drew closer, barely making it underground as someone rounded the corner. It was Jack who appeared.

 _What?! What's he doing here?_

Jack glanced about the hallway. Tia stepped out behind him, saying, "Focus, Jack."

With some reluctance, Jack followed her, and Copper relaxed just a little.

"Yeah, you're right," Jack said as they moved on. "Finally we're putting an end to this farce! I was sick of waiting."

"I told you: we would not be able to defeat Joker. We must let WAZA handle him while we claim the Crimson."

They quickly moved out of earshot. Copper thought, _So they're here after all. It still doesn't sound like they'll be an obstacle, but we can't be too careful._

"Plesio," he murmured. "Let the others know that Jack and Queen Tia are here pursuing their own objectives. I doubt they'll cause trouble for us unless we engage them, so I suggest giving them a wide berth."

The PM-ian set about composing the message. Copper moved forward slowly, considering his next move.

 _That being said…if I can successfully tail them, I'd be able to make sure they don't cause a problem._

He paused at a branch.

 _Well, the way they came from probably doesn't have anything worth investigating._

Keeping his head underground, Copper headed in the same direction Jack and Tia had gone, hoping it was the right decision.

* * *

Freezing cold permeated the entire room. Missiles flew about at random, and the floor shook sporadically under the heavy footsteps of Strong; several tanks of Crimson had now been broken open by stray attacks, leaving small clouds of the stuff to float about freely. Pat took a deep breath as he did his best to stay calm.

"You alright bro?" Rey asked, standing in front of him with his arm transformed into a shield.

"Yeah, I'll manage." Pat steeled himself. "Let's give it another try!"

The two of them ran forward, Pat hurling a series of lightning bolts as he went. Up ahead, Ice wove between the blasts and summoned two large chunks of ice, sending them out to meet the boys. Rey reinforced his weapon arm to punch through one of them. Pat slid underneath the other, and then resumed his attack. Ice was still too fast for him to hit. Hyde suddenly appeared in front of her to swing his cane—she narrowly spun around the attack, doing her best to stay on the edge of Pat's range as she did, and Rey took the opportunity to fire a rocket punch. Finally, they hit her.

"Yes!" Rey exclaimed, rushing forward in excitement. "Take that, you—"

Ice darted straight at him. Rey tried to dodge, but the floor was too slick for him to get his footing. Skates kicked him in the face, knocking him flat; Hyde summoned a shadowy hand to try to grab their foe before she got away, but she slipped right through his fingers. Pat nearly hit her, a snowflake spawning between them just in time. He dodged the icy wind as best he could, falling down in the process. As Pat started to get up, Rey suddenly jumped forward and pushed him back down, keeping them both low as Ice swung a massive hammer in a wide arc.

"Ah, thanks," Pat said. "I thought this was going to be easy…"

"And are you going to let a little challenge discourage you?" Gemini asked. "Get to it."

"Shut up," Rey said. "We don't need you to tell us that!"

Hyde worked to keep Ice distracted, constantly moving and throwing his hat in her path to keep her boxed in. Levitating above the ground, he remained unaffected by the hazardous conditions that had been laid down, yet still he was finding keeping up with Ice to be a difficult task. As Ice dodged his next attack, she skated up a wall that had frozen over and leapt through the air towards Hyde, generating three icebergs around herself as she came crashing down. Hyde dodged back, and was pushed away when the icebergs spiraled outward. Ice tracked him but couldn't chase—Pat and Rey had moved in with their swords ready, so she rolled back and onto her hands. Kicking out with her legs, Ice swung her skates to deflect both swords before flipping back upright and clapping her hands together. The icebergs were pulled back in at her command. Pat avoided them, but Rey was blindsided and sent flying through the air. Ice grinned…until a bolt of lightning arced around her defenses to strike her.

Rey ultimately collided with Spade Magnes, unknowingly stunning the Wizard and giving Dubius the chance he needed to pelt him with precise feather bullets. Wolfe ducked in quickly to pick the boy up and get him clear, and then slashed the air to send a cutting shockwave at Magnes. With a roar, Magnes fired a series of missiles at the two of them while charging headlong at Dubius, but a line of Libra's weights materialized to block the projectiles.

"You alright, Rey?" Shepar asked from nearby.

"Fine," Rey snarled, "but what about Pat?!"

He looked back to see Pat still locked in combat with Ice, swinging his sword over and over as she continued to spin around and parry his blows with careful kicks of her skates. Rey was about to charge in when Hyde suddenly appeared and swatted Ice away. Pat looked over at him with a grin.

"I'm fine, Rey!" he said. "See if they need help while you're there!"

Groaning, Rey glanced back at Magnes. Dubius and Wolfe had summoned a small group of ducks and wolves to charge their enemy, who shot one red missile forward before swinging his sword of the same color. An energy field spawned from the missile, engulfing the lackeys, and when the sword was swung the entire group was sent flying back at Dubius and Wolfe by a powerful repulsive force. Magnes transformed his body into a rocket and launched himself at the two of them. More weights blocked him, and as he transformed back, Shepar switched places with one of them and spun himself into a spiral of fire and water, catching Magnes by surprise. It didn't last long, however: the Wizard swung at Shepar's arms, keeping him from attacking, and managed to push him back a bit. A rocket punch from Rey knocked him out of it.

"That's all the help you're getting!" the boy called as he bounded back towards Pat.

Shepar switched places with a nearby weight to buy enough time to charge one scale with fire. He smacked Magnes with it, and then enlarged the other to serve as a shield when the Wizard counterattacked. Dubius flipped over the weights to land a diving kick, and Wolfe wasn't far behind, though the blow he dealt with his claws didn't seem to do much. A cluster of missiles came their way—Dubius scattered them with a gust, and then Shepar extended the cords of his arm to smack Magnes again before all three retreated.

"What's the matter with you?" Wolf asked.

"Nothing," Wolfe said.

"Nothing? You barely scratched that guy."

"It's nothing."

Wolfe pressed himself against the floor as Magnes shot by overhead. While he was still in rocket form, Dubius rammed into him from the side to send him careening straight into one of Shepar's weights. Wolfe got up and ran at his dazed target, delivering a shallow cut, but his follow-up came slow enough that Magnes was able to catch it on his sword. Magnes slashed Wolf and immediately repelled him. He then attracted a magnetized weight to his arm, spun it around, and repelled it with such force that it buried itself deep in the wall; only the timely intervention of Dubius enabled Wolfe to avoid it.

"If you're gonna hold back, then what's the point of us even being here?" Wolf asked.

As he set Wolfe down, Dubius asked, "Um…are you alright, Damian?"

"Fine," Wolfe said, running past him without another word.

Dubius prepared to follow, but Cygnus said, "Tom, on your left!"

Three small whirlwinds of Crimson were moving towards him. Dubius quickly spun around with his wings outstretched, generating his own whirlwinds to counteract the intruders, and then watched as the Crimson gradually settled in place.

"We really need a way to clean this stuff up," he murmured, glancing past the cloud to see Strong raising his club.

Amy bounded to the side to avoid the weapon, and then up onto Strong's shoulder, kicking him in the side of the head. She hung on tightly as he tried to shake her off, and looked down to see Kidd throwing Claude up with all his might. The boy enlarged his claw as much as he could so that when he connected with Strong's jaw, it actually stunned him for a moment—seeing her chance, Amy beat her fist against Strong to call down an avalanche that knocked him off balance. Kidd fired a barrage of energy blasts while Claude shot a stream of water at the same point, and together they managed to send Strong toppling over with a mighty crash.

"Take that!" Claude cheered. "This guy may look like Strong, but he ain't so tough!"

"Nice job!" Amy said. "Now let's see if we can keep him down!"

Strong waved his arm blindly as they continued to pelt him with attacks. None of them damaged him all that much, but together they proved enough of a nuisance that he was unable to get back to his feet. Eventually his fingers closed around a small cloud of Crimson. With a bellow, he smashed it into the floor, and it exploded into a radial burst of Noise shrapnel that hit all three of his opponents. They stumbled back, waiting for the stinging pain to die down, as Strong rose up once more.

"Owowow," Claude grumbled. "Great, back to square one…"

Kidd took a step forward, saying, "I shall draw his attention this time."

"Huh? You sure about that?"

"Absolutely. You and Amy wait for an opportunity to restrain him."

Kidd ran at Strong. The lumbering Wizard spat out several acorns to impede him, but they barely even slowed Kidd down. As he drew near, he began creating doppelgangers in a trail behind himself—when Strong swung his club, they all evaded and grouped together. When they separated, Strong was no longer sure which was the real target.

"I'm ready," Amy said as she slid up next to Claude. "Just tell me as soon as you are."

Claude snapped his pincers anxiously as he watched Kidd circle around Strong. One of the doppelgangers leapt high and shot an energy blast, its form looking far less solid once it did. Strong destroyed it with his club, and then Kidd and his other doppelgangers leapt in, hitting Strong all over his body before he could pull back from the swing. Grunting, he waved his arm, but accomplished little. Strong raised both hands above his head, shouted, and then slammed them both down, fragmenting the ground around him, destroying Kidd's doppelgangers, and sending the real one flying a short distance away.

Claude winced, but threw his arms up and said, "Now!"

A great tidal wave came up from the floor. At the same time, Amy reached out and exuded as much cold as she could muster. The wall of water was part-way through breaking over its target when it froze completely, leaving the majority of Strong's body trapped in an enormous block of ice.

"Whew," Amy sighed. "Hopefully this'll hold…"

Claude yelled and ran at Strong, throwing one of his claws to punch him in the face. He alternated his left and right as he continued, and soon Kidd was at his side, adding quick blasts between the punches.

"Take this!" Claude said. "And that! We ain't afraid of you, right Kidd?"

"Not at all!" Kidd said. "We will not allow this monster to continue disgracing Lord Strong!"

Amy chuckled. "Maybe I should leave it to them."

"Beg pardon miss," called Hyde, "but if you are not busy we could use your assistance!"

Amy turned to see Pat and Rey frozen while Hyde desperately fended off Ice by himself. Sliding over, she collided into Ice shoulder-first, sending her crashing into the wall. Ice immediately sent out an iceberg, but it was pulled into a snowball Amy rolled and returned back to its maker. Amy turned to say something and frowned: cracks were already spreading across Strong's prison.

"What do we try next?" Yeti asked. "That guy's defenses aren't gonna be easy to bust through."

"Sort of wishing Bud was here after all," Amy mumbled.

Hyde tugged on the brim of his hat and tapped his cane against the floor. "Not to worry, miss. The curtain is about to rise on a scene that I think you will find most thrilling. Heh, heh, heh…"

Pat and Rey finally managed to free themselves at about the same time Ice did. They took up fighting stances as the Wizard looked around in a rage, but rather than take them on, she darted off in the opposite direction.

"No you don't!" Rey said, raising his arm.

"Wait a second!" Pat said. "Look at Hyde!"

Rey glanced his way—the man was grinning to himself, watching Ice make her way over towards Strong. The immense Wizard shattered the remains of his cage and smashed the ground with his club, narrowly missing Kidd and Claude. He pulled back for another swing, only to find two large icebergs crashing into his shins. Turning, he saw Diamond Ice skating right at him, and tilted his head in confusion. Ice wasted no time in generating a massive hammer and bludgeoning him in the face with it.

"Huh," Rey said, "guess that works…"

"If they've got that handled, let's help the others," Pat suggested.

"You sure you don't need to rest?"

Gemini scoffed. "Show some initiative, boy. Lazing about in the midst of battle is hardly what I'd call productive."

Pat was off before Rey could respond, so he just followed quietly. Dubius was currently driving Magnes back with a series of kicks—the Wizard evaded each one, sending missiles out at random while he waited for an opening. When he did make a swing, Dubius crossed his arms to block, and Magnes smirked and readied his second blade. Dubius just narrowed his eyes, and the tip of his hat suddenly sharpened into a fine point that extended forward, piercing Magnes's helmet and interrupting his attack. A swift kick to the chest sent him reeling. That was when Pat and Rey dropped down on either side of him and attacked with their own blades.

"You two?" Wolfe asked. "What about…"

He turned to see Ice assisting in the fight against Club. Before he could ask, a mighty roar from Magnes prompted him to return his attention to more pressing concerns. Magnes retaliated ferociously, Pat and Rey only barely able to parry, and then he leapt backwards and exerted his power. Pat and Rey's weapon arms were drawn together by magnetism. Rey laughed as they blasted Magnes with Gemini Thunder.

"Heh," Wolf said, "maybe they don't need us after all. Good thing, since you weren't much help anyway."

Wolfe scowled. Shepar approached him then, asking, "Damian, what's going on? If you don't mind me saying, you don't seem to be giving it your all."

Quietly, he replied, "It's…Magnes. I know it isn't really him, but…it's a Wizard I know. A harmless school Wizard." He looked at his claws. "I spent a long time learning to control myself so I wouldn't hurt innocent people. Guess part of me can't help but think that's what I'm doing now."

"I see. Then in that case, you'd better leave this to us."

Wolfe looked up. "I appreciate that, Mitch, but I can't. You and Tom are still new to this—Pat and Rey too. I can't just turn tail and leave you all to fend for yourself. You guys need my help."

Shepar nodded. "So then…you'll fight Magnes to keep the rest of us safe?"

After a short delay, Wolfe sighed. "Yeesh, it's really that simple, huh? Gosh, I'm an idiot."

"Haha, we all need a little push every now and then. Just focus on who you're defending, not who you're fighting. You can do this."

"Right. Thanks, Mitch."

Wolfe turned to Magnes. Pat, Rey, and Dubius had him surrounded, but his attacks were too wild for them to land a solid hit. Wolfe lengthened his claws and glanced at Shepar.

"You mind?" he asked.

"Not at all."

A weight appeared over Magnes. He realized in time to jump away, and that was when Wolfe pounced. Before Magnes even saw him, he dealt a blow that threw him up against the side of the now-grounded weight, and then followed up with several more claw slashes before Magnes finally got in a lucky shot. Magnes switched to his rocket form to escape, weaving through weights as he did; Pat used precise lightning blasts to limit his running space even further, and Dubius swooped down from above to send him straight towards the ground. Rey was waiting with his arm in the shape of a hammer. He smacked Magnes so hard he went flying off to the other side of the room, where Strong's club accidentally hit him dead-on, and he was ultimately launched straight into Ice, leaving the two of them in a tangled heap.

"Good job, kids," Wolfe said. "Come on, let's keep on him!"

Pat chuckled. "Whatever you say, Mr. Wolfe!"

Strong was vaguely aware of Magnes, but didn't have time to do much about it. A tidal wave nearly knocked his club from his hand, and as he was struggling to keep hold, Kidd dealt a pinpoint blow to his opposite shoulder. Strong's arm went limp for a moment, leaving him even less able to defend himself. He roared in frustration as the attacks just kept coming.

Nearby, Hyde turned to see Pat, Rey, and the others chasing after Magnes, greeting, "Well…bang-up job, I suppose. But, there is a slight complication…"

Ice threw Magnes off and leapt to her feet. Her eyes were burning with fury, and they were now fixed squarely on Hyde. Pat acted fast: he generated a few dozen orbs of lightning that hung low to the ground, and they all gradually moved in on Ice's location. Wolfe extended his claws to try swipe at her from afar, but she ducked and put both hands on the floor, willing sharp icicles to jut up all around her and offer some defense against the minefield closing in on her. Shepar shot a fireball to obliterate them instantly.

Magnes was back up now, looking worse for wear but not defeated yet. He roared weakly, and then fired a barrage of missiles that absorbed the lightning orbs Pat had made and forcing him and his allies to scatter. Ice rushed forward at the chance. Pat shot a rocket punch, but she generated a snowflake in her hand to block it and then rammed into him with it. He slid across the ground, barely noticing Magnes fly by overhead, but his attention was drawn to Ice, who was rearing back with another hammer. Pat's eyes widened. He scrambled futilely to get up off the slick floor, and braced himself as Ice swung down. At the last second, Rey dove in and pushed him out of the way. The hammer struck his brother with enough force that the ground beneath him cracked, drawing a quick shout of pain from him before the strength completely drained from his body.

"Rey!" he shouted, finally rolling back up on his feet. "Rey, are you okay?!"

Shepar dropped a weight to snap the hammer in two. Moving towards Ice, he shouted, "Hey, over here!"

As he forced Ice back with a shower of fireballs, Pat ran over to Rey, who lay sprawled out on the floor with his teeth clenched. "Rey…!"

"Heh…sorry, Pat," Rey said. "I'm…not so sure…I can move…"

"Not only that, we've lost quite a lot of energy from all the hits you've been taking," Gemini said. "We may not be able to maintain Wave Change much longer."

Panic began to swell in Pat's chest. "Well…what do we do? What are we going to do, Rey?!"

"Calm down," Gemini said. "I will be able to conserve energy if I gather it into one form—dismissing Rey's body will allow me to focus my power upon maintaining Wave Change with you. And, mangled as he is, it's the better idea anyway."

"What?! But I need Rey! I can't do this without him! There has to be another way, I—"

"Hey," Rey said, slowly reaching up. "Pat…c'mere."

Pat took Rey's hand, leaning down to listen.

"It's gonna be…okay. I'm not…gonna be much help…in this state…I gotta rest…regain my energy…so I'm sorry…but you're gonna need to finish this…without me."

"But…I still need you, Rey! I'm not ready to do this myself!"

Rey grinned. "I'm not gonna be gone forever…I'm always here for you, whenever you need me. Thing is…right now? You don't need me, bro."

Pat shook his head. "Rey, I…"

"I know…you can do it. You've gotten…so strong, Pat…and you've got plenty of others watching your back too. I…I trust them. And I know that you can do this…without me." He cringed as his body spasmed, but then chuckled. "'Sides…even if I'm not out here…I'll always be a part of you. You're never really alone, Pat. So…go get 'em."

Rey tightened his grip. In a flash, his form vanished, and then Pat's right arm began to glow. A second later, it was encased in the same gold metal as his left, but rather than a + on the shoulder, it bore a – symbol. He gently grabbed the arm, and bit his lip.

"…Right. You're still with me, Rey. And right now, you need me to protect you. So…I'll take the lead this time."

Pat turned around. Shepar and Hyde were holding off Ice—they weren't having much luck hitting her, but Hyde was similarly evading her attacks, while Shepar took very little damage thanks to his armor.

"How dramatic," Gemini said. "If you're quite done, then—"

"Shut up, Gemini."

The FM-ian was taken aback. However, he said nothing more. Pat headed off across the icy floor, raising his right arm and firing each of its fingers individually while his left crackled with electricity. Ice dodged the projectiles and skated towards him. As his fingers regenerated, Pat hurled a lightning blast; Ice easily avoided it and sent out an iceberg, circling around to keep an eye on her target. Turning his arm into a clawed gauntlet, Pat jumped and clung to the iceberg, firing more lightning bolts to keep Ice on her toes. Hyde and Shepar had caught up now to assist him, and together they boxed Ice in. Pat leapt off the iceberg and formed his arm into a drill, pushing Ice back as he created another electric orb behind her—she was stunned, allowing him to knock her back with a hammer. Ice quickly jumped up and cut him with her skates, but stumbled when she came back down. Both Pat's hands crackled.

"This is for Rey!" he said, clapping them together. "Gemini Thunder!"

He opened his palms and thrust them forward. A spiraling torrent of lightning poured forth, colliding headfirst with Ice and tearing her body into shreds of Noise near-instantly. Pat let out a long breath before smiling.

"Hm…well done," Gemini said. "You truly have improved."

Pat nodded. "Thanks. But we're not done just yet."

Meanwhile, Dubius and Wolfe had continued to beat down a rapidly-weakening Magnes, one of his arms now completely severed as he floated back cautiously. He fired a missile that exploded into an energy field, allowing him to repel the both of them, but not before they summoned a handful of minions just beyond the field's limits to keep him occupied.

"Hey, Tom," Wolfe said. "Whaddaya say we finish this guy so we can move onto the big one?"

Tom chuckled nervously. "Ah, well…sure. Why not?"

Magnes looked up to see Wolfe extending his claws across the room. They pierced him like a group of spears, pinning him to the wall, and he flailed his remaining arm against them as Dubius danced towards him. Magnes managed to cut through one of the claws, but that was all he could do before Dubius smashed his head into the wall with a kick. A few seconds later, his body too disintegrated into Noise.

Everyone's attention was now on Strong. He surveyed the room, realizing that his allies were down, and scowled. After enduring a few more hits, he clenched his fists and shouted—slowly, all the Crimson in the room converged on him, soaking into his body until none of it remained. A red glow enveloped Strong, and he glared down at his foes with new malice.

Shepar was quick to act, peppering Strong with fireballs. Wolfe ran forward to swipe his claws through one of them, lighting them before slashing at Strong's chest, but even that only stopped Strong for a second. He swung his club, and a massive tornado moved forward to toss everyone about. Opening his mouth, he began spitting out acorns, and each one exploded as soon as they hit something, causing even more damage to the room. One of Hyde's shadow hands reached out from the wall and grabbed Strong's club—it tried to wrest the weapon away from him, but it was no use. Strong simply ripped it free and bashed it against the floor, sending cracks shooting all across it.

"Uh-oh," Cancer said. "This is really, really bad! We could barely touch this guy before, and now…"

Claude gritted his teeth. "I know…but we can't give up! He's taken a lot of damage already, we just gotta keep pushing until he finally breaks, no matter how much it takes! We're not running away this time, right Kidd?"

Kidd nodded. "…I do believe a change of strategy is in order, however. Allow me a moment to gather my energy."

Claude turned to him and, after a short delay, said, "Wait, are you gonna try that new technique? Are you sure about that?"

"Perhaps not sure, but I have decided. That is, if you agree, Goat?"

"I do," Goat said. "Claude is right: we must do whatever it takes."

"…Alright then," Claude said. "I'll make sure you have all the time you need!"

Kidd smiled, and then closed his eyes and breathed deeply. Claude turned back around to see how the others were doing: Amy was pelting Strong with snowballs while Dubius flitted around his head battering him with feathers, and Hyde, Wolfe, and Pat hacked away at his ankles. Shepar alternated fire and water blasts as he slowly circled the field, dropping a weight on Strong's head when he saw a chance. Strong spat an explosive acorn at him, but he had already switched places, and spun himself into a whirlwind right on Strong's back. With a heave, Strong threw himself back into a wall, smashing Shepar into it, and then summoned another tornado that swept up Dubius. Strong peeled Shepar off the wall and threw him across the room—Shepar was barely able to switch places with another weight, ending up safe on the ground while he caught his breath.

"Can you put him in an illusion?" Pat asked, carefully avoiding Strong's swing.

"Unfortunately," Hyde said, "I put so much energy into Miss Ice's show that the budget won't allow for another performance. Dreadfully sorry about that."

Wolfe lengthened his claws and swung them upward, slashing Strong's chin. The Wizard responded by kicking him, putting him in the opposite wall. Pat distracted him with a wall of lightning bolts as Amy came closer, Hyde offering what help he could; Amy tried freezing Strong's damaged shoulder, but he whipped around as soon as he felt a chill, dealing a powerful hit that sent her flying. Strong swatted at Pat, but Hyde managed to get him away in time. That was when Strong finally noticed Claude and Kidd. He spat an acorn at them, but Claude acted quickly, catching it in a bubble before it exploded.

"You kids need to move!" Shepar shouted.

"He can't!" Claude said. "He's focusing his power for a last-ditch move right now! I gotta keep him safe so he can finish!"

Shepar grunted. Strong was rearing back, so he focused on the space in front of Claude and dropped a few dozen weights as fast as he could. Just as he finished, Strong threw a hundred punches, releasing a hundred precise shockwaves that battered against the barrier and slowly but surely rattled it apart. Still, not a single hit reached Claude. Strong prepared to fix that just as Dubius kicked a clawed foot into his eye.

"Thanks, mister!" Claude said.

Shepar rolled over to them, asking, "How much more time does he need?"

Claude looked back at Kidd: a subtle glow was emanating from him. "He should be close…just a little more time!"

Wolfe and Hyde were back in the fight. Amy shook her head before limping over, and noticed the pile of dented weights lying around. She grinned.

"Hey," she called, forming a snowball, "heads-up!"

With a push, the snowball went rolling into the pile of debris, absorbing them all to grow far larger. It rolled to a stop, now looking a bit too heavy to be thrown, so instead Claude slammed his pincers into the floor to summon a tidal wave, the wall of water picking up the snowball and carrying it forward to break over Strong. The Wizard was stunned—even more so once Pat fired off a Gemini Thunder, using the snow around him to strengthen the effect. Claude looked back again to see Kidd's eyes open.

"I'm ready," Kidd said. "Here we go…"

The glow surrounding him grew brighter. Gradually, Kidd began to increase in size, growing until he was about the same height as Strong and then taking a moment to exhale. Strong immediately took notice and grunted at him.

"This ends now!"

Kidd lunged and bashed Strong in the chest before he had time to react. The Wizard was slammed back against the wall, nearly breaking through it, and watched wide-eyed as Kidd pressed his advantage. After taking another punch, Strong managed to catch Kidd's fist in his hand—he twisted the boy's arm, giving him time to kick him back, but Kidd rolled up onto his feet and right back into his stance. Strong jumped forward to throw a punch, and when Kidd blocked him, he backed away and readied his club. Kidd retreated, the weapon narrowly missing him. He saw Strong getting ready to spit more acorns, so he moved in, dealing several hits in rapid succession to stun his enemy and whittle down his endurance. Kidd raised his fist for the final blow, but without warning, Strong's aura burst, throwing him off-guard for a moment. That was all the time Strong needed to floor him with his club.

"Kidd!" Claude shouted.

Strong reared back for another blow, but before he could swing, a snowball blinded him. He cleared it quickly, whirling to send a tornado after Amy, but Dubius appeared to dispel it, sticking him with a few feathers at the same time. Wolfe leapt onto Strong, and as the Wizard struggled to pry him off, Hyde teleported just behind his neck and kicked up a shockwave. Strong shooed him away and tossed Wolfe aside, spotting Shepar wheeling over. He was about to strike when Pat appeared, stunning him with a drill strike to the ankle, and Shepar was able to close in and generate a column of fire and water right in front of Strong. The Wizard was fuming by the time he could move again. He didn't realize Kidd was back on his feet until the boy drove both fists straight into his chest, flinging him into the wall once more.

"There," Kidd panted. "That should...do it…"

Kidd rapidly shrank back to his normal size, falling over in exhaustion. Everyone watched carefully to see if Strong would get back up. He did.

"We need a new plan!" Shepar said. "I'll get Kidd out, the rest of you keep Strong back!"

They readied themselves as Strong took a slow step forward. The giant hefted his club high above his head, growling weakly as he did. Then, one of Claude's pincers came flying through the air, striking his fingers and making him lose his grip. The club fell directly onto Strong's head, dropping him instantly. As his body finally began to fade, Claude reattached his pincer and ran over to Kidd's side, and the others all collectively breathed a sigh of relief.

"Kidd, are you alright?" Claude asked, gently grabbing him the shoulders.

"I'm fine, Claude," Kidd said. "Nice throw."

"Hehe, yeah, I guess. We did it, huh? All of us did!"

He grinned at everybody as they undid their Wave Changes one by one. Hyde clapped his hands slowly, saying, "Bravo, bravo to all! Seems the troubled production of Project-TC came together quite nicely in the end! The question is, what do we do now?"

"I think we should rest up," Shepar said. "That battle took a lot out of us."

"I agree," Dubius said. "Besides, the others haven't requested backup…and, really, I don't think it's likely they will."

"Wouldn't hurt to go see if they need it, though," Wolfe said.

"Oh, we can discuss that later," Hyde said. "For the time being, I believe Mr. Shepar has the right idea. We've earned a brief intermission. Whatever comes next can wait at least a few minutes, don't you think?"

There were no complaints. As they all found somewhere to sit in the rubble, Pat glanced up at the doorway that led deeper into the base; despite the relief he felt at his own battle being over, a strand of worry was gradually creeping over him now that he had the chance to think of something else.

 _We've got this part covered…so you'll be fine too, won't you? Geo?_

* * *

Notes:

-Sorry that took so long. Some things have been going on in my personal life, and it unfortunately doesn't seem it'll quiet down until September—and I mean, they're mostly good things that are happening, but they are taking a bit more time and energy and that only makes it more difficult to get myself to work. But, once everything settles, I think things will go much more smoothly. I'm still going to get out all the content I can, but I wanted to give some kind of notice in case that ends up not being a lot of content.

-This battle. My gosh. It's been a LONG time since I've tried writing a battle this big (well, this big with this specific a roster I guess), and I think that psyched me out a bit, with additional pressure because this is pretty much the last hurrah for all these characters. I tried my best to give everyone something to do, have some worthwhile interaction, give the suite bosses a few tweaks just to make things more interesting…once I relaxed I had some fun with it. I should do that more. It helps a lot.

-Ah, right, I wasn't able to cleanly describe the alterations to Libra Scales…and, uh, there isn't much to describe anyway. He's another design that's already very streamlined and doesn't really have any superfluous elements—all I could really think of was saying that the horizontal lines on his lower body are vertical now.

-Pat gaining both weapon arms was something I'd been wanting to do ever since I decided to bring Gemini back. I do wish I'd been able to develop Pat and Rey more, but I really like this as an endpoint: Pat taking what Rey's given him but wielding it himself to cope with his problems without his brother actually there, and Rey, though forced to, letting go and trusting Pat to handle himself for a bit, and trusting the other people who care for them both.

-There's still a certain someone who needs their last hurrah, and that's what we'll kick off with next time, followed by our heavy hitters coming face to face with Joker. Stay tuned!


	32. Chapter 32

The Satella Officer peeked up over his cover. Viruses were rushing across the plains of Whazzap, a handful of which were nearly upon them. Turning to his new blaster, he flipped through the Battle Card display and then took aim: loading an Air Spread, he shot one virus and the energy burst out to damage the others nearby, making a small hole in the oncoming forces.

"Keep at it!" shouted another officer. "We can't let them through!"

A shadow passed overhead. Seconds later, missiles fell upon the enemy forces, eradicating huge swaths of them at a time. The officers looked up and cheered, and Terra Condor screeched as he circled back around.

"The other fronts are accounted for!" the Shaman said. "As soon as these interlopers are dealt with, the battle will be over!"

A few of the viruses below took note of him. They attacked, but only a handful had the range to even threaten him, and even those he could easily avoid. That is, until one powerful blast of flame caught him by surprise. The Shaman took another look at the forces below: standing at the rear was a rather large humanoid Wizard clad in gleaming silver armor lined with small spikes, his head shaped like that of a Mal Wizard and a Coin emblem on his chest. In place of hands, each arm ended in a long, rectangular gun barrel.

"Finally!" he shouted. "I was beginning to wonder if you'd EVER show up! See, I was told to save my strength to take you out, and I've been itching to test out this new power!"

"Hmph!" the Shaman scoffed. "Dealer thinks you will be able to defeat me? You hardly look like much."

The Wizard laughed. "Looks can be deceiving, buddy! Let's find out together if you can handle the onslaught of Silver Ballistic!"

With a shout, Silver fired a volley of blasts into the air. The Shaman dropped and angled his body to weave through the spread, returning fire as soon as he saw an opening. Silver shot up one more blast as he jumped to the side, this one erupting into a bright flare that blinded the Shaman; he pulled up and tried to keep his distance until his sight returned, but he felt the sting of several shots nonetheless.

"How irritating," the Shaman grumbled.

"My friend," Condor said, "while we deal with him, we must not forget our comrades."

The Shaman realized the virus horde was once again advancing on the Satella Officers. Circling wide to give himself a bit of time, he released two missiles that dropped a few feet before slowing down a bit, flashing a few times before transforming into miniature replicas of Terra Condor.

"That should suffice for now," he said as they swooped down towards the battlefield. "Now, back to the loud one…"

Silver was still sending shots up, making him an easy target. The Shaman fired missiles just as he started his approach, and, predictably, Silver shot them out of the sky. Still, the distraction allowed the Shaman to close in and take aim with his lasers. The Wizard barely stumbled out of the way.

"Whoa, almost!" Silver said.

More missiles came at him before he was ready, so he pointed his weapons down and fired them as he jumped: the recoil of the blast propelled him a good distance out of the way, enabling him to avoid damage. The Shaman gave chase, so Silver stayed on the defensive. He was slowly losing room to run, so the Shaman watched for an opportunity, but before he could find one, something hit him from behind. Shocked, he faltered in his attack, and Silver grinned.

"Try this one!" he shouted, aiming one of his arms. "Silver Bullet!"

The barrel glinted briefly before something shot out of it. The bullet moved so fast the Shaman barely even saw it, but despite how small it was, it stung horrendously when it struck the base of his wing. He spiraled briefly before righting himself, and glanced back a moment to see what had initially surprised him. Where Silver had fired at the ground earlier, two turrets resembling his weapon arms now sprouted up from the rock, tracking his every move. He grunted.

"So even when he's not shooting at us, we still have cause for concern," the Shaman said. "I suppose he's not to be taken lightly after all."

He created two more miniatures before renewing his attack on Silver. As he did, the miniatures went to deal with the mounted artillery—carefully avoiding their shots, one miniature sent out a wave of missiles to provide some cover, and the second used a laser beam to slice the arms apart. Silver launched a massive fireball, so the Shaman fired missiles to intercept it. Before they hit, however, the ball split apart into a dozen tiny streams of flame, each arcing in a different direction. Several grazed the Shaman, and one destroyed a miniature as it was coming around to assist him. The Shaman flew low to the ground as his remaining miniature rained missiles on their foe. Too off-balance to counterattack, Silver rolled to the side as the Shaman bore down on him, taking aim once he came back up. A laser from the miniature hit him square in the back, cutting him off before the tiny craft crashed into him and self-destructed.

"Argh…alright, not bad," Silver said. "But I'm not quitting until I shoot you out of the sky!"

He brought his arms together, and in a flash they merged into one enormous gun that he aimed at the Shaman. The barrel spun rapidly as shots poured out of it, Silver's cackling almost drowned out by the sound; the Shaman was able to stay ahead of the stream of destruction, but not by a wide enough margin that he would have an easy time retaliating. He deployed a few missiles to see what would happen. Before they could reach Silver, they were destroyed by blasts coming from another direction—this drew the Shaman's attention to a nearby rock outcropping, where he realized one of Silver's turrets was sitting.

 _When did he plant that?_

It occurred to him too late that the sound of bullets had stopped. Silver had already separated his arms and sent out two blasts: one a flare that blinded the distracted Shaman, and the other a splitting attack that impacted all across his body. The Shaman veered off, trying to safely recover. Even if he couldn't see, he knew this area well enough that he could navigate it blind…or so he thought, until a blast from an unexpected direction hit him.

 _More artillery? When…oh, that's right. He said he'd been waiting. I should have expected he was not simply twiddling his thumbs._

The Shaman's eyesight returned just in time to see one of Silver's barrels gleaming. He banked, but the Silver Bullet still found its mark, blowing off an entire chunk of his wing. Several nearby turrets sniped him as he lost altitude, leveling out only just before hitting the ground.

"We're sitting ducks," Condor said. "There is no sufficient cover nearby, and we cannot be sure how many of those guns he's planted. We require caution…but, I am not so sure a cautious approach can defeat a foe like this."

"It will have to," the Shaman said, creating two miniatures. "The people of Whazzap are depending on us. We are not allowed to fail."

The miniatures stayed low and went in different directions, skirting the edges of the area to hunt down the turrets. The Shaman made a show of charging back in, firing dozens of missiles at once, in the hopes of baiting some of them into giving away their position. Many did: fireballs came at the Shaman from what seemed like every direction, and at the last second he accelerated suddenly to pull out of danger. Silver had both weapons aimed at him, but he wasn't able to shoot before the Shaman fired a trio of lasers that swept over the ground towards him. He dodged narrowly, spinning back into position to finish his attack, and this time he heard a screech from behind. One of the missiles the Shaman had sent earlier had transformed into a miniature after he had dodged it, and it had now doubled back to stun him with its own laser as the Shaman closed from the other side. Two more turrets made themselves known, but the Shaman took the blasts and kept going until he smashed nose-first into Silver. The Wizard was flung back, bouncing off the ground a few times before the Shaman collided into him again—he then opened his mouth and fired a beam that pushed Silver off into the distance, stopping only when it slammed him into a rock face. The Shaman slowed then, powering up his wing cannons as the dust settled.

"You were destined to fail, you fool!" the Shaman called. "Unlike you, I have a reason to fight, and—"

A Silver Bullet shot from the dust, striking one of his cannons and shattering its casing. The energy that had built up exploded out, knocking the Shaman sideways and straight into the ground.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Silver said, fusing his weapons together. "I'm not interested in any speeches today!"

The Shaman couldn't get off the ground before the blasts started to batter him. Luckily, his miniatures had dealt with all of the turrets and now came to his aid, their combined assault able to distract Silver just long enough for the Shaman to take off. Snarling, Silver knocked one miniature away and then spun to face the other two, waiting for them to get close to each other so that when he shot one with a Silver Bullet, the explosion it left behind took out the other.

"We have sustained heavy damage!" Condor said. "If we do not finish this quickly…"

The Shaman's breathing was ragged. Focusing on Silver, he said, "I think I know the best way…muster your strength, Condor. One last attack!"

He screeched as he dove back towards Silver, the Wizard laughing at him. Lasers came from the Shaman's mouth and remaining cannon, the beams twisting slightly as they moved; Silver stepped back, but the attack did not take the path he thought it would, instead curving to the side before coming back around.

"Okay—almost got me there," he said as he shuffled past another beam. "But was that it? Just trying to surprise me with some random beam patterns? That won't cut it!"

The beams suddenly ceased. The Shaman stopped in mid-air, panting. Silver took aim.

"You done? Good."

A chuckle came from the Shaman. "You are…a fool…you misunderstood…my intentions…"

Cocking his head, Silver glanced down at the ground. The beams had carved an intricate design under his feet, some sort of symbol that he did not recognize. "What's this, one of your fancy Lines this place loves so much? I'm not impressed."

"No…this symbol…is from the language of Mu…"

A sudden shriek caught Silver's attention. One miniature was still around, firing a laser that carved one final detail into the symbol. The glyph shone with light as soon as it was complete.

"Whazzap," the Shaman said.

A massive explosion engulfed Silver. When it cleared, he was nowhere to be seen. The Shaman sighed deeply, and slowly sank to the ground.

"Excellent work, my friend!" Condor said.

"And same to you, Condor."

"Whazzap is safe at last. Shall we separate so that you can rest properly?"

Slowly, the Shaman lifted back up. "Not yet…we still need to be sure the Satella Officers have finished off those viruses."

"Haha, you never rest, do you?"

"Not when our people are concerned."

"An excellent point. In that case, let us be off."

* * *

Countless emotions mixed together in Sonia's mind as she made her way down the long room, Geo, Ace, Bud, and Solo right behind her. They came a halt right at the top of a staircase, and all silently fixed their eyes on Joker. He regarded them collectively with a calm fury in his eyes. Sonia took a deep breath.

"There you are, Joker," Ace said. "Hey, mind telling us where King is? I figured he'd be here, but it looks like he must've taken off already."

A massive screen appeared behind Joker. It displayed an image of King, who said, "Ho ho, welcome back, Ace! I was beginning to wonder if you'd ever come home!"

Sonia looked up at the screen. _So that's Mr. King? And…_

Her eyes wandered, allowing her a glimpse of Heartless in the background.

… _Wait a minute…have I…seen her somewhere?_

"Don't get all sentimental on me," Ace said. "I'm just here to finally shut this place down. If you'd be willing to come quietly, that'd make things a lot easier for all parties involved."

King laughed. "Don't bother bluffing, Ace! You know I hold all the cards. There isn't a thing you can do to stop me."

"Heh…we'll see about that."

"Won't you introduce me to your friends?" He leaned forward. "Hello everyone. My name is Mr. King, and I am the leader of Dealer. You've already met my sons Ace and Joker, and this is my assistant Heartless."

Heartless bowed slightly. Sonia thought, _Somewhere…where? Why can't I put my finger on it?_

"And who do we have here? Harp Note, of course—the legendary heroine who has been so helpful as of late."

Setting the matter of this mysterious woman aside for the moment, Sonia turned back to King.

"I see she brought her sidekick Mega Man, no surprises there."

Mega scoffed. Geo just waited patiently.

"And…why, if it isn't Rogue! Truth be told I'm quite surprised you're actually cooperating with anyone!"

"Hmph," Solo said. "I didn't ask you."

"And that just leaves…" He squinted at Bud. "Hm. You know, I'm sure I've seen this one before, but his name escapes me at the moment…"

"H-Hey!" Bud shouted. "That's Taurus Fire, and don't you forget it!"

"Regardless," King said, "I'm afraid we're just not ready for guests at the moment. Why don't you all run along and keep producing Crimson for me like good children? Otherwise…I shall become very cross."

"We're not going anywhere until we have you in custody," Ace said. "If you won't come willingly—"

"Wait," Sonia said. "Ace, let me try, please."

Ace nodded. Sonia stepped forward, and King said, "Oh, how splendid! I've heard such excellent things about your methods, Harp Note—it'll be such a treat to participate in a demonstration!"

"Mr. King," Sonia said. "There has to be some way we can settle this peacefully. What is it that you're really after? Maybe we can find a different way to achieve it, one that doesn't involve so much violence."

King stroked his chin. "What I'm after, eh? All this time, I've been telling my subordinates our goal is to control the world…but now, perhaps I can finally come clean about my true goals."

Ace inclined his head. "Y…you're not trying to control the world? Then, why do you need Meteor G? What was the point of creating Dealer?!"

King shrugged. "What's so wrong with wanting a family, Ace? Whatever other purposes you've served, I truly do consider you all my children. What more point do I need?"

Ace gaped. Sonia went on, "So you wanted a family? This couldn't have been the only way to have that."

"No," King sighed, "it wasn't. But when I explored a more traditional route, things…didn't quite go the way I wanted them to."

"…Oh." Sonia began to feel a painful sting in her heart. "I'm sorry…something happened to your family?"

King folded his hands, looking up at nothing in particular. "How long has it been now? How long since I married the love of my life, since we were living happily together, raising our children as we both worked to better the world with our scientific skill? How long since I was truly happy…hah. Seems I've lost track. What a shame." He paused. "But…how long has WAZA been studying Noise? A year, if that? Do correct me if I'm wrong."

No one did.

"Yes, something like that. They only just began working on it, only now that it's become a problem. We've known about Noise for years, decades now. There was so little of it that no one thought it was worth looking into…save for me, and my lovely wife. We realized the terrible potential Noise had, that if the world waited for it to become a problem, it would already be too late. So we gathered what Noise we could and devoted our lives to studying it. After years of work, we were finally so close to a breakthrough…when I lost everything."

King slid a hand up over his face.

"We were running a new experiment on the Noise…I left the house to make a call. As I was coming back, something went wrong—the Noise corrupted our equipment, _all_ of the devices in our building, and before I even knew what was happening…"

He pulled his hand away, taking his mask with it. The skin it had covered was badly burned, blanketed in dozens of tiny cuts. Sonia covered her mouth.

"It all blew up in my face."

King slowly removed his glove—the hand beneath was mangled in the same way.

"Roughly 70% of my body is still covered in scar tissue from the explosion. I was paralyzed from the waist down. The doctors said I was lucky to be alive. I had trouble agreeing…seeing as the rest of my family was not."

"…I'm so sorry," Sonia said, feeling the sting intensify. "I know how much it hurts to lose someone you love. And…I know how desperate the need to fill that void can be."

King studied his hand, mumbling, "Indeed, indeed. It broke me, quite frankly. I didn't want to go on, not after Noise took everything away from me."

"Then…why are you still working with it? What are you trying to gain from it?"

King raised an eyebrow. "Gain? Weren't you listening, my dear? Noise doesn't bring gain, only loss. I lost everything because of it…and that sort of unbridled, destructive power, it's simply…" A grin crossed his face. " _Magnificent_."

Sonia blinked, unable to process what he had just said. "W…what?"

"The potential of Noise is terrible indeed," King said, slowly lifting his arms. "Terrible, and _wonderful_! It corrupts and destroys everything it touches—it is as inevitable as entropy itself! After seeing it with my own two eyes, I finally understood! And it is my duty to share that epiphany!" He laughed. "Control the world? What a bore! I want to see the world corrupted and _destroyed_ , preferably by the wretched, all-consuming power of Noise!"

Shuddering, Sonia said, "I…I don't understand! Why would you want that?! If you know what it feels like to lose everything, then why would you want to inflict that on someone else?"

King chuckled as he slipped his mask and glove back on. "Oh, you simple, naïve child. I knew you would never be able to grasp such concepts."

Sonia stared up at him, completely baffled. As she struggled for a response, Solo walked past her, fixing a glare directly on King. "I've waited long enough. King. Tell me what you've done with the xarium."

King tilted his head. "Beg pardon? The what?"

"Don't play dumb. I want to know where you're keeping the xarium you stole from the Murian shrine. It does not belong to you."

"Oh? Is that why you've been butting into our affairs?"

"Why else?"

With a shake of his head, King replied, "I'm sorry, my boy, but I really have no idea what you're talking about. Whatever was in this shrine of yours, Dealer was not the one who stole it."

Solo narrowed his eyes. "Am I supposed to believe that? Who else could it be?"

"How should I know? And, more importantly, why on Earth would I lie about it? If I did have such a thing, I'd have it in my hands right now, watching you froth angrily as I taunt you with it. Surely you can vouch for me, Ace?"

Solo turned to Ace. Hesitantly, he said, "…Yeah. That sounds about right."

After a slight pause, Solo's gaze fell to the floor. "…The xarium…isn't here…?"

King laughed. "Oh this is hysterical! This whole time, you've been picking a fight with us out of petty vengeance for something we didn't even do! How absurd! Ho ho ho ho!"

Gritting his teeth, Solo glared at Joker. "…Well. Whatever the case, I still have a score to settle with this one. So let's just move on to that."

Joker nodded. "I too am eager to put an end to this. May we begin, Mr. King?"

"One moment," King said. "Is there anything else you would like to add, Harp Note? Or are we in fact done?"

Sonia clenched her fists. The sting had become a burn, slowly spreading through her body. "…You…you just want others to share the same pain you feel. The exact same pain I've felt—the pain I've sworn to protect people from! I don't know if I should feel sorry for you…or if you're just a monster deep down. Either way…" She glared at him as she formed her guitar. "I'm not letting you get away with it, King! Dealer is finished!"

King smirked. "How quaint. Well, now that I've got your foes all riled up, Joker…why don't you quash their enthusiasm? Go on. Unleash your true power!"

A smile of pure glee came to Joker's face. "Yes, Mr. King! Thank you!" Facing the group again, he added, "Finally…it is time! I shall show you weaklings what true power is, and grind you to dust beneath my unstoppable might!"

He bellowed as an aura of Noise instantly sprang up around him. The team was prepared in a flash: Ace Wave Changed, Solo drew Laplace, Bud began burning red-hot, and Geo activated Wolf Gemini Noise. Sonia chose Cygnus Gemini, her helmet growing a beak-like brim and sharp talons sprouting from her boots, her single scarf splitting into two shaped like wings—one white, one black. The armor was mainly yellow in color with a few silver accents, but the outer sides of her arms and legs had splashes of white and black to match the wings. Her guitar, which featured two necks, was made of gold metal, with spikes on the body that crackled with sparks when she held it at the ready.

"Noise level 100%," Joker said. "150%...200%. Rrrragh! 300%!"

Energy swelled around him, acting like a gust of wind that nearly bowled over Sonia and the others. They held their ground as Joker's power continued to climb.

"700…800…900…! Noise level at maximum! Now…" He threw back his head. "Finalize! Grave Joker!"

A sphere of dense Noise formed around Joker, a shape that resembled Meteor G itself. It compressed around him slightly, and then expanded greatly, keeping its form for only a few seconds more before bursting apart to reveal Joker. In many ways, his attire hadn't changed too dramatically: he still wore his coat, which now featured brighter gold designs and patches of bright red that lined up with matching designs on his boots, which sported wider, rounder armor. His sunglasses remained as a visor, now connected to silver metal that lined the sides of his head and his jawline, and similar light blue glass covered the top of his head. His arms saw the most change, both in the bulbous red armguards he now sported, and in the two massive, angular protrusions that sat on his shoulders. Crimson radiated from their points as he looked down on his opponents.

"This," he said, "is the full power of Meteor G, available to those of us able to wield the Joker Program." He pointed at Sonia. "Count yourself lucky, Harp Note…for this is the only time you will see the power you lack the ability to master."

Sonia wished she had a retort for him, but she couldn't speak. Without even trying, she could sense the incredible power Joker had at his disposal, and it was far, far worse than anything she had been prepared for.

"Sonia."

She snapped to, realizing it was Lyra who had spoken to her.

"We can do this," the FM-ian said gently. "I imagine it will not be easy, but we will no doubt find a way. Don't forget that our friends are here to aid us."

Sonia glanced back over her shoulder. "…That's…part of why I'm so worried…"

Joker suddenly took a step forward. Everyone else stepped back unconsciously. With a shout, Bud lowered his horns and charged, saying, "Whatever! You're through, pal!"

He barreled ahead too quickly for anyone to stop him, and rammed headfirst into Joker. Joker didn't move an inch. Bud pushed with all his might, but it was no use.

"Pathetic," Joker said as he raised one hand.

With a mere flick of his finger, Bud was sent flying. Joker looked up to see Laplace, in blade form, spinning through the air towards him, but made no effort to dodge. Laplace similarly failed to affect Joker, transforming back to normal as Solo dashed in to use an uppercut. Despite connecting with his foe's jaw, Solo's attack did nothing—Laplace grabbed him before Joker had the chance to counterattack, swinging him around in a full circle to deliver a kick to Joker's face. Solo flipped up as Laplace became a sword once more, swinging down with all his might to execute a slash that caused a massive geyser of purple flame to erupt from the ground. Joker then threw a knee, obliterating Laplace's barrier without slowing down and sending Solo rolling back down the stairs.

"Worthless."

Ace's wings fired, propelling him around Joker in a circle as he fired off a series of Wide Waves. Sonia and Geo leapt forward to unleash a joint lightning attack, and then quickly retreated, Sonia wrapping Joker in electrified strings while Geo teleported behind him to execute a series of fast sword strikes. Ace shot an arrow that increased gravity around Joker, trying to hold him down, and then rushed forward to thrust his bayonet. Joker waited until they were done before effortlessly snapping through his bindings.

"You're all so weak!"

He beat his fists together. A shockwave of Noise radiated out from him, knocking everyone off their feet. Next he punched the ground, causing two massive blocks of metal to shoot up from the floor beneath Sonia and Geo, while a third fell from the ceiling and nearly crushed Ace. Taking another slow step forward, he shrugged off the blasts Ace peppered him with and watched as the team regrouped. Bud fired two rocket punches at him, but they too had no effect.

"Not even a scratch…" Geo muttered. "Does anyone have any ideas?"

"Acid," Sonia said, "you're analyzing him, right? How long until you've got something?"

"I already possess complete data on Joker," Acid said. "At this level, the only approach known to be effective is Finalization."

Joker's arm turned into a buster. A steady stream of missiles shot out of the barrel, so the group scattered, Sonia using her strings to pull herself over to one of the metal blocks for cover. She waited for the attack to stop, but it kept going and going. Eventually, Joker ceased firing, and a trio of flame pillars sprang up around him as Bud moved in. Sonia played quickly: a series of connected notes bursting with electricity shot from her guitar, and Joker stopped as they hit him. Bud began to punch at him wildly; meanwhile, Solo hung back drawing a series of glyphs in the air, and Geo and Ace seemed to be planning something. Sonia played more notes to keep Joker stunned…until he slowly managed to break free of the paralysis and flatten Bud with a swing of his arm.

"You should not have come, boy," Joker said. "Even compared to these weaklings, you are pitifully frail."

"No," Bud said, "I've definitely gotten stronger! You don't know what you're talking about!"

He breathed out a wall of flame as he backed away. Sonia carefully aimed the head of her guitar and began rapidly firing feather bullets at Joker, and soon Solo joined in, shooting a storm of fist-shaped blasts as he walked forward with a subtle glow. His eyes flashed as he swung Laplace, and this time Joker reacted: he stumbled back a half-step and clutched his wound, giving a muffled grunt. Solo leapt back as his glow disappeared, but this was when Ace charged in at top speed—he tackled Joker, slipped behind him, and wrapped his arms around Joker's, holding him in place. Sonia was about to move in when she saw Geo taking aim.

"Stay back!" he said. "Here we go…Buster MAX!"

His arm cannon lit up red. When he fired, countless massive bullets burst from the weapon's tip, flying across the room to pound against Joker one right after the other. Joker gritted his teeth as he grunted.

 _Finally,_ Sonia thought, adding her own blasts to the assault. _If we can just keep up the pressure…_

Joker opened his palm. A beam of Noise lanced forth, striking Geo and knocking him against the wall. Ace leapt back as Joker tried to grab him, but Joker was back on him in a second, dealing a rapid series of kicks that stunned Ace. One of Bud's rocket punches exploded against Joker's back. The Wizard turned and lunged at Bud, bashing him into the floor with both hands.

"NO!" Sonia shouted, rushing forward in a panic. She nimbly danced around Joker for a time, dealing a few swift kicks to him, but soon Joker made contact and she hit the ground, dazed.

Joker looked up as Solo came back, glowing once again. He raised his arm to block the slash, still grunting as the blade bit into him, and then retaliated with a Noise beam that Solo only barely avoided. Solo drew a glyph as he pulled back, calling down purple thunderbolts on Joker. But Joker walked right through the attack and picked up one of the metal blocks he had generated, hurling it and hitting Solo dead-on.

"Urgh…no way," Bud groaned as he pushed himself off the floor. "How can he be this tough?"

"Do you see yet?" Joker asked as he loomed over him. "You are weak. It is impossible for one such as you to gain any strength that matters. Try all you like to build yourself up, but you will only be wasting your time."

Bud tensed. "…What…?"

Strings wrapped around his shoulder armor. Sonia pulled herself in and smashed a speaker over Joker's head, shattering it in the process. He reached up to grab her, but she flipped down in front of him and generated four more speakers, bringing a hand down on her guitar to send a lightning-infused gust of wind from each of them that managed to hold Joker off. A dragon-shaped blast of electricity rammed into Joker from the side, and Sonia turned to see Ace already loading up another Battle Card. Geo was behind her, helping Bud to his feet, and soon he stepped forward, transforming both his hands into swords. He launched himself into a frenzy of slashes as Ace and Sonia carefully shot around him, moving just fast enough that Joker was unable to catch him. Watching this, Bud sighed.

"Guess even after all that work…I still haven't caught up yet," he said.

"Bud," Taurus said, "don't talk like that! Maybe we're not as strong as we want to be, but that doesn't mean what Joker said is true!"

Bud shook his head. "It's okay, Taurus: I know. I know this isn't a waste…I've definitely gotten stronger. And if this still isn't enough…" He clenched his fists. "Well…then I guess I gotta push these new limits until I get even stronger!"

He increased the heat of his armor, generating a thin veil of steam as he did. Solo leapt over him with Laplace raised high—Sonia, Geo, and Ace scattered as he came down, and even Joker backed up, though he was caught in the flames that burst up when the sword touched the floor. Geo was immediately behind Joker as soon as it cleared, stabbing over and over with an electrified lance. Sonia complimented his maneuver with quick swings of her guitar. Ace jumped up and fired several shuriken down at Joker, but when he saw their foe rearing back, he gave a shout and used his wings to control his fall. That was all that saved him from another metal block. Sonia and Geo were able to avoid damage, and Solo was still hanging back. Bud, on the other hand, ran forward; he punched through the block right before him, his fist so hot that it melted right through the metal, and then threw a follow up that made contact with Joker. The Wizard simply glared at him.

"I told you," he said, grabbing Bud by one of his horns. "You will never be strong enough to matter!"

He knocked the wind out of Bud before hurling him away. Sonia dashed over, using her guitar to summon some wind currents to soften his landing. Joker faced Geo as the boy loaded another Battle Card, and when he pointed at Joker's blocks, they all exploded, engulfing him in a cloud of flame. Ace didn't wait for it to clear: he fired twin lasers from his shoulder cannons, striking Joker just as he was walking out. They slowed him down a little.

"Are you alright, Bud?" Sonia asked.

Bud was back on his feet, increasing the heat of his armor once again.

"Bud, stop! You're just going to get hurt—you need to leave this to us!"

"Please, Sonia!" he said. "Please, let me do this! I have to see how far I can push myself!"

Geo and Ace were thrown against the wall. Solo popped up in front of Joker in an attempt to surprise him, but the Wizard dodged his attacks and kicked him a dozen times in the span of a few seconds.

"Bud," Sonia said, "I know you want to help, but—"

"It's more than that! I…I have to prove that he's wrong! Wrong about me, wrong about the way he thinks! Strength isn't all that matters…but if it's all he'll listen to…then a weakling like me showing some will definitely get his attention!"

Joker was walking towards them now. "Why do you continue to try? Is it not apparent already that your efforts are all in vain?"

Bud chuckled, the temperature of his armor still climbing. "You know…to be honest, part of it is just that you really piss me off, Joker! I've been mad before, but never _this_ mad! It's like my blood is boiling…white-hot!"

The heat surrounding Bud spiked, his glow quickly shifting from red to orange to white. Joker raised his buster. Before he could fire, Bud dashed forward, leaving a trail of flames in his wake, and punched Joker in the gut. Joker hunched over, wide-eyed.

"I've always wanted to be strong…and yeah, there was a time where I thought that strength defined me! That I'd be nothing without it!"

He threw an uppercut, successfully knocking Joker back.

"But now I know better than that! So a guy like you, telling everyone else they don't matter because they're weak…"

Bud reared back.

"I won't stand for that!"

He bucked forward and shot out white flames. Joker shouted briefly, crossing his arms in front of his face as he endured the attack. When the fire eventually died down, Bud stopped to catch his breath…and his armor immediately cooled.

"D…darn it," he panted. "Guess that's…it…for me…"

Joker stepped towards him. Sonia rushed forward, but he blindsided her with a Noise beam and turned back to Bud, who wobbled as he tried to stay on his feet.

"…Well done," Joker said. "You are stronger than I realized, child. However…"

He pulled back a fist.

"This is as far as that strength will carry you."

Joker punched Bud, flinging him to the far side of the room where he crashed into the wall. Falling to the floor, Bud's Wave Change shut off, and he lay there unconscious with a pained smile on his face.

"Bud!" Sonia yelled. "Bud, no!"

Geo got to him as fast as he could. "He's still breathing! I'll get him out of here, and then I'll come right back!"

As he moved Bud, Sonia put a hand to the side of her helmet, saying, "Detective Copper, are you there? We need help! Bud's been knocked out—we need to get him to safety!"

"I'm on my way!" Copper replied. "Just hold on!"

Sonia turned back to face Joker. Solo stood on the other side of him, clutching Laplace with both hands as he watched his opponent. Ace came to join them, but as soon as he stopped, he hooked his blaster to his belt and lowered his arms.

"Ace?!" Sonia asked.

"We aren't making enough headway like this," Ace said. "We're down Taurus Fire, Mega Man's out of commission for a few, and I think we're all running low on stamina already. Drastic times…call for drastic measures."

Ace clenched his fists, widening his stance.

"Hope you guys don't mind, but I'm going to take the lead now. Acid…it's time for us to Finalize."

* * *

Notes:

-While I think it's for the best the Shaman stays in Whazzap, I still wanted to give him someone to fight during this scenario, even if only briefly. Terra Condor is a unique design that unfortunately has a lot of restrictions—if he showed up any more often his fights would probably get quite boring and samey. But as a rare treat opening for a heavily-built up main event, I think he put on an excellent performance. Silver Ballistic is a pretty straight-forward design, but he does take a bit of inspiration from Chance Man from Pachislot Rockman Ability.

-King was definitely an effective villain, but it struck me as odd that we never learned his background or motivations when Star Force usually puts a focus on that. I wanted to expand on that here, but not in a way that totally compromised his despicability—he's still an evil person, that won't change, but now we have something that informs the choices he's made. Plus, you know, being motivated by the loss of his family makes him a more fitting antagonist for Sonia. Their first interaction is less than ten chapters from the end of the story, it can't hurt to put a little extra weight on this abbreviated clash between them in whatever way I can.

-The Murian technology Dealer took in the game was just some random device that amounted to nothing, so I decided to have Solo hunting for something else here. But "Mu Metal" is such a generic name, don't you think?

-While "Dread Joker" is very cool and intimidating, I still feel that "Grave Joker" from the original Japanese version is more appropriate since it emphasizes Joker's connection to Meteor G, so that's what I'm sticking with here.

-Strap in folks. Next one's going to hit hard.


	33. Chapter 33

"At the very least, I think we should wait to hear back from Detective Copper," Hyde said.

"They aren't going to need us," Shepar said. "We should get everyone out of here, maybe secure the perimeter or something. That's the safer option."

"That's fine," Wolfe said, "but I'm gonna go on ahead. I want to at least see how things are going."

The discussion went on. Pat turned to Gemini, who floated a short distance away, and asked, "What do you think?"

"It is something of a conundrum. Our enemy is right before us, and at their weakest, so it may be wise to strike now and finish them off. But then again, we are still not at our full power. So perhaps it would be wiser to retreat for the time being?" Gemini turned. "What say you, Phantom?"

Phantom met his gaze. "Hmph. Well, if you ask me…" He floated a few paces forward, calling up a screen. "I think now is the perfect time to act."

Gemini snickered. "I see. Well, you are our strategist."

Pat turned back to the debate. Phantom's hand hovered over the screen, and he subtly nodded to Gemini. Gemini took one last survey of the room, locating potential exits and verifying that everyone was distracted, and then turned towards Pat.

"Now!"

The boy was startled by his shout. Turning, he saw Gemini charging straight at him, body bursting with electricity, and his eyes widened. Phantom hit a prompt on his screen. Pat pulled back and braced himself, but…he felt nothing.

Hesitantly, he opened one eye. Gemini was nowhere to be seen.

"…Huh?" he muttered.

"W…What is the meaning of this?!"

Pulling out his Hunter, Pat saw Gemini on the screen, confined to a small window in the corner. The FM-ian was writhing about in fury, and nearby, Phantom burst out laughing.

"Phantom!" Gemini shouted. "I thought we had an arrangement?! Explain yourself!"

"Yes, you did think that, didn't you?" Phantom said, coming to look at the screen. "You were so convinced I would go along with your silly little plan—that your pretty words would be enough to manipulate even me. Did it never cross your mind, Gemini? That perhaps I would be the one manipulating you?"

"What?" Pat asked. "What's going on?"

"Your friend Gemini was plotting to take his revenge upon you all. But he needed some way to break free of the chains binding him, and for that, he turned to me." The PM-ian cackled. "He actually thought I was going to release him! Join forces! Oh, what an utter buffoon!"

Frowning, Pat turned to the screen. "Gemini…! You still don't want to help us? I thought—"

"Oh, shut up!" Gemini said. "What, you thought I was willing to change, same as all the rest of these pitiful specimens? Never! Now tell me, Phantom: why have you betrayed me?!"

Phantom just waved him off. Hyde stepped over and said, "More importantly, Phantom…why did you not inform us that Gemini was formulating such a scheme?"

With a grin, the PM-ian said, "Isn't it obvious? Gemini is feared as a master manipulator. By outwitting him in such a way, I have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that my strategic mind is the greatest in all the galaxy!"

Hyde rubbed his temple. "…My word…you truly are a despicable one."

"Hah, I have no qualms with that assessment. Even aside from proving my brilliance, I knew he would prove most useful in this mission—revealing him too soon would have left us quite ill-equipped for the battle we just endured. Don't you agree?"

Choosing not to answer, Hyde instead turned to Pat. "Patrick? Are you alright?"

"Uh…yeah, I'm fine," Pat said. He sighed. "Just…disappointed, I guess."

"Cheer up, boy. Wretched as Gemini might be, you wielded his power expertly in defense of your own associates and ideals! That is something still worth taking pride in, and much more worthy of your focus, I would say."

To his own surprise, Pat smiled a little. "…Thanks."

A chime came from Hyde's Hunter. Picking it up, he called up a screen that displayed only static. "Hello?"

"It's me," came Copper's voice.

"I'm afraid I don't know anyone by that name—are you sure you have the right number?"

"Not now! First off, are you all still safe?"

Glancing at Pat's Hunter, Hyde said, "I'd say so. There was a brief scare, but it has been dealt with."

"Alright…I've been trailing Jack and Tia, but they're hiding out for the time being. The advance team has engaged Joker, and Bud is down."

Amy ran forward. "What?! What did you say?"

"He's alive, but he's been knocked out. Geo got him out and now I've got him—I'm bringing him your way so we can get him out of here."

"Bud…" Amy murmured.

"I'm sure he'll be okay, Amy," Yeti said. "Bud's too tough to stay down for long!"

"Please clarify, detective," Hyde said. "Are you suggesting we all vacate the premises?"

"I was certainly considering it. Judging from what Geo said, Joker's on an entirely different level, and I don't think it's a good idea for the rest of us to stick around."

Hyde turned to Shepar. "Well, that's what you wanted to hear, isn't it?"

Shepar stared intently at the screen. "But…what about Geo? And Sonia, Solo, Ace?"

"…We just have to leave it to them," Copper said. "We've already done everything we're able to do. They trusted us to take care of our duties, and now we need to trust them."

That didn't entirely satisfy Shepar, but he didn't know what else to say.

"The Satella Officers have already withdrawn and formed a perimeter. You should go meet them, unless someone wants to help me with Bud once I get there."

"I will!" Amy said. "I'll wait right here!"

"Thank you for the update, detective," Hyde said. "We shall see you when you arrive."

The call ended, and the group began to move out. Pat cast a glance back at Amy, who tapped her foot rapidly as she watched the hallway, and soon he found himself following her gaze. He only tore himself away when Wolfe set a hand on his shoulder.

"Geo's gonna be fine too, Pat," the gardener said. "Come on."

Pat followed him out of the base, hesitation weighing down his every step.

* * *

"Noise level…100%," Ace said. A thin, red aura formed around him.

"Ace, wait!" Sonia said. "We might still have another way! You don't have to risk it!"

"We can't waste time, Sonia. It doesn't matter what happens to me: we need to stop Joker, and Finalizing is my best bet! 200…percent…!"

A flash of anger came over Sonia. Stepping forward, she shouted, "Don't talk like you're expendable! You're just as important as the rest of us, Ace, even if you don't think so! I won't let you just throw it all away like that!"

Ace smiled. "…Thank you, Sonia. Alright, how's this? I'll do what it takes to beat Joker, _and_ I'll come out alive. Deal?"

"But…"

"300%!"

King laughed. "Oh, what's this? Think the luck of the draw is on your side, Ace? It would be most unfortunate if you were to lose control here and now."

"That's not gonna happen," Ace said. "Acid's restrictions have been removed! Now, we can control the process, so you'll get to see _our_ full power! 400%!"

Joker inclined his head. "…Hm. Very well: allow Acid to truly be set free. Let him reclaim the strength that is his birthright. Then, he will understand."

Ace's aura grew slowly but steadily. Sonia said, "Lyra, we can't let him do this! What if we Finalize instead?"

"Hard to say, dear," Lyra said. "It seems to be a rather complicated process, and we've no experience with it. I can't be sure we'd pull it off correctly."

Sonia tightened her grip on her guitar.

"You said this should be their choice. Well, they've chosen. Now we just need to see if they made the right call."

She still felt like she should do something. But, as she thought about it, Lyra was right. So she stayed back and let Ace carry on.

"Five…hundred…percent," Ace groaned. His aura fluctuated.

"Ace," Acid said. "I would not recommend pushing any further. We are already struggling—the risk outweighs the benefit."

"Alright, then. You ready for this?"

"I am prepared. Proceed at your leisure."

Ace looked down at his hands to see they were shaking. He chuckled to himself. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and leaned back a little, before leaning forward and shouting, "Finalize!"

Noise curled into a sphere around him, and in that moment everyone held their breath. It compressed slowly, expanded in an instant, and then slowly fell away. Ace emerged looking completely different. The black jumpsuit that covered his body had glowing red lines running along the front of each limb, all meeting at a central point on his torso, and his lower legs were encased in cylindrical greaves made of sleek black metal. Thin vambraces of the same material adorned his forearms, sporting long spikes on the wrists and elbows, and a piece of it also wrapped around his upper body, though it was barely more than collar. Two long, narrow wings extended back from his shoulders, black frames constantly gushing red Noise. His head was protected only by a black guard that was more like a mask than armor. At first he just stood there, still and silent, leaving everyone to wonder if he was still in control of himself. Time dragged until he looked back at his hands and clenched them into fists.

"Grand Ace," he said quietly. He locked eyes on Joker. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Joker. Shall we?"

On the screen, King folded his hands before his face to hide his smile. Sonia was relieved that Ace was alright, while simultaneously awestruck at the power he had gained; even Solo seemed impressed as he observed the two Finalized warriors from a distance.

Joker stepped forward with a big grin. "Acid! You've reconnected with Meteor G at last! Tell me, brother: how does it feel to know true strength once again?"

"I doubt my answer would please you," Acid said. "Initiating combat."

Suddenly, Ace was right in front of Joker, sword in hand. Joker stumbled back in disbelief as Ace swung the weapon faster than his eyes could follow, cutting him half a dozen times almost instantly. He swung his arm out to repel Ace, but he was already behind him. Ace spun rapidly, generating sharp air currents around himself that dug into Joker's back, until the Wizard whirled around and just narrowly missed Ace as he retreated. Stopping on the other side of the room, Ace smirked at Joker. Joker scowled, charging Noise into his fist—Ace's fist also lit up, and he shot straight forward just as Joker punched, throwing his own at the same time. Their fists collided, and Noise rippled out from the impact, shaking the entire room.

"Acid, what are you doing?" Joker asked. "Don't you see? We were born to use this power! But the humans are jealous of our strength, and will only try again to take it from you! Come with me, and we will be able to do whatever we want!"

"You are incorrect," Acid said. "What I want to do is to continue to fight and work alongside Ace. There is nothing that you can offer me, Joker."

Joker's jaw dropped. "W…what?! Are you so far gone, brother? Why would you willingly side with the humans after what they've done to us?"

"Our limits were put in place for our protection. The humans have shown that they care about our well-being, through that concern and more. Ace especially has proven…quite enjoyable to be around."

"Aw shucks," Ace said, "you're gonna make me blush, Acid!"

Joker swung his other fist forward, Ace narrowly dodging. "Acid…even you have been taken in by their lies. Fine then. If the only way to release you from their control is to delete you, then I shall send you from this world myself!"

He punched the ground, summoning metal blocks from the floor and ceiling. Ace wasn't even slowed down as he wove through them. Joker launched into a rapid series of kicks as soon as Ace was in range, but Ace did the exact same thing, his feet moving even faster to enable him to parry Joker's kicks while still landing a few of his own. He leapt back as Joker slammed his fist down, shooting pinpoint lasers from his hand as he circled wide. Joker roared, and Noise shot out from him in every direction; Ace got to where Sonia and Solo were and generated a blade, swinging it at just the right time to slice the incoming waves apart before they could strike the spectators.

"Everyone alright?" Ace asked over his shoulder.

"Uh, yeah," Sonia said. "Thanks…"

Solo didn't answer. Not waiting, Ace dove back into battle, continuing to deal hit-and-run strikes to Joker as he carefully dodged each of his foe's attacks. Sonia looked away when she heard footsteps behind her, turning to see that Geo had finally returned.

"Bud's going to be alright," he said. "Detective Copper is taking…"

He trailed off as he became aware of the fight going on. They all watched Ace attack and retreat over and over—Joker managed to dodge one of his blows and threw a punch, but Ace ducked under it and spun, kicking Joker in his exposed side and then putting some distance between them. Joker aimed his buster and fired a stream of missiles, but Ace calmly shot down each one, lifting higher and higher off the ground as he did.

"Curse you, Ace!" Joker said. "You are the one responsible for corrupting my brother!"

Ace shook his head. "Come on, Joker, give it up. Acid's not like you. He held onto the relationships he had, and learned to share strength through them. But you thought those same relationships would only weigh you down, so you rejected them…and that includes your bond with Acid. The rift between you two isn't my fault, Joker. It's yours."

Joker clenched his teeth. Holding his palms to his sides, he began to charge Noise in both of them, saying, "I will not be lectured by you! You turned your back on Dealer, yet still seek Jack and Queen Tia's forgiveness—yet you claim I am in the wrong, you hypocrite?"

"Yeah. Because I realized I messed up. I admit it's not much of an edge…but I'll still find a way to cut you down with it."

The Noise in Joker's hands began to spill out between his fingers. "Try it, then!"

He thrust both hands forward, sending out an enormous beam of Noise. Ace's wings shot out a small pulse of their own as he rocketed forward and to the side, skimming the outside of the beam as he spiraled around it back towards its source. He threw his all into a punch that connected with the side of Joker's face. The Wizard's head turned, and his beam skewed to the side as well, carving a deep gash into the wall. Joker retaliated quickly, but Ace was still quicker: he backed up and swung a sword, the attack covering a massive amount of ground to cut Joker from a safe range. He then used the same attack again, and again, and then put his hands out to fire a barrage of white energy balls that rained down upon Joker. Ace was about to continue attacking when suddenly he flinched.

"…Damn," he murmured under his breath. "Well, it was fun while it lasted."

With a snap of his fingers, a small but focused tornado spun into existence around Joker. Ace backed up a bit more, being sure to dodge more blocks in the process, and adjusted his stance, his wings glowing brighter and generating even more Noise.

"It's time to end it! Wing…"

In the blink of an eye, he was behind Joker, arms apart. Neither of them moved.

"…Blade!"

Joker recoiled suddenly, Noise spewing out from his armor. Ace smiled, and then dropped to one knee, trying to muffle his grunts of pain. The sound of clapping could then be heard.

"Splendid!" King said. "Such a marvelous performance from the both of you! I'm almost sad to see it end."

Ace forced himself to stand. "Heh…well, save your tears, King. I want to see you bawl when we take you away."

"Oh Ace, you poor child…you actually think you've won?"

He turned around a second too late. Joker's fist rammed straight into his solar plexus, and he nearly blacked out from the pain. The next thing he knew, he was in the far wall, every inch of his body aching, as Joker lumbered closer.

"It seems your time is up, Ace," Joker said, raising a Noise-wreathed hand. "Your body is too weak to wield the power of Meteor G. You tried to claim strength beyond what you could control…and now, you shall pay dearly!"

He fired. Just before the beam hit Ace, Geo appeared in front of him, deploying his shield to narrowly save them both. He glared through the barrier at Joker.

"What do you hope to accomplish, boy? I can crush you even more easily."

Geo aimed his buster. "Break Time Bomb!"

A large device with a timer appeared next to Joker. As soon as it did, Sonia played furiously, sending out a constant stream of notes to try to keep Joker paralyzed, while Solo moved in to slash him across the chest. Joker shrugged off their attacks, punched Solo, and crushed the time bomb beneath his foot. Geo stepped back.

"I know all about you," Joker said. "You had the potential to gain strength for so long, yet shied away from it like a coward. Your conviction is a lie."

Geo activated an Aura card as Joker fired another beam at him. Its protective light enveloped him, but was immediately torn away by the laser, leaving Geo to take the brunt of the assault before falling to his knees. Joker ignored Sonia's attacks and stepped forward, blocking Laplace on his arm.

"And you, child of Mu," he said as he faced Solo. "Interfering in the battle over Meteor G, believing your own long-disgraced culture still deserves some retribution…"

Solo drew a glyph and pushed it straight into Joker. With a burst of Noise, it instantly dissipated, and Joker punched Solo into the ground. The boy writhed as Joker raised his fist high.

"You do not belong here!"

Panic seized Solo, and all he could do was turn and cover his head. He heard the blow connect. But he didn't feel it. Looking up, he saw Sonia standing there, arms crossed above her head—she had intercepted Joker's punch, and while she was still on her feet, her entire body was trembling like it was about to collapse under its own weight.

"H…Harp Note?" Solo mumbled, eyes growing wide.

Sonia sluggishly lowered her arms, glaring up at Joker. "He…belongs…here."

Solo sat there, stunned. Joker, teeth clenched in fury, placed his palm directly in front of Sonia's face, charging it with Noise in preparation for another attack. Sonia didn't move.

"And _you_ ," Joker sneered. "The lauded idealist who preaches her notions of bonds and growth. Do you have a speech you hope will change my heart as well?"

Sonia remained silent for a long time. Then, hanging her head, she simply said, "No."

"Oh? And why is that?"

"…Because…you're an idealist too."

Sonia shook her head.

"I really hate to say it. What you believe is so against what I believe…but you believe it so intensely, and you keep fighting to prove it. You're fighting for your ideals just the same as me…so if I want to win…if I want to prove that my ideals, my belief in them, is stronger…then I have to accept it. Which means I don't have much chance of changing your mind."

"Hmph," Joker grunted. "So you admit that you can't convince me to change. Isn't that the same as admitting your ideals are wrong?"

"No, it isn't. Everyone can change, and that includes me. I guess…even my ideals need to change, just a little. Otherwise I'm just ignoring the world around me."

She paused to look back up at him.

"I…don't think I can forgive you for what you did to Luna. So even if I do believe that everyone can change if they want to, including you…it's hard for me to want you to. And more than that, I can see that you don't want to. So this fight isn't going to change anyone. And I need to stop pretending that it can."

"Then," Joker said, "what reason do you have to fight me?"

Sonia finally stopped shaking. "To protect people."

"Is that all?"

She took up a battle stance. "That's more than enough."

Joker stared hard at her. Then, he clenched his hand into a fist, letting the Noise form around it, and said, "Very well. Then let us see just how strong your will truly is."

He reached out faster than she could react, grabbing her by the neck and lifting her off the ground. The Noise moved to envelop her, and immediately, Sonia could feel it overwhelming her senses. It took all her focus just to scream.

"No!" Solo shouted, leaping to his feet. Joker repelled him with a kick before he could even swing, and then summoned a metal block on top of him to pin him down.

"Sonia, hang on!" Geo said, already teleporting forward. Joker anticipated where he would appear, bashing him across the face as soon as he did; he then fired a continuous beam of Noise for a few seconds, whittling away what stamina Geo had left, leaving him in too much pain to move once he was done.

"Oho, now this is an interesting play!" King said. "A berserk Harp Note, now that would be a sight to see! I'm on the edge of my seat!"

Behind him, Heartless watched events unfold with a frown, tapping her finger against her leg. She raised her arm slightly, but then put it back down.

Sonia could barely think straight. Noise rushed into her, making her body twitch and spasm randomly; Lyra could feel it too, and she cried out in agony.

"N-No!" she said. "Not again! Oh, no!"

Tears welled up in Sonia's eyes. "L…Ly…ra…"

"Where is the strength of your ideals now?" Joker asked. "Where is the unbreakable will that so many have bowed to? Or does it still pale in comparison to the might of Meteor G?"

Slowly, Sonia's fingers curled into fists. She put every ounce of strength she had left into forcing her body to calm down. When that ran out, she found more. Soon, she was almost still, vibrating only slightly, and she breathed in.

"Lyra…!" she said. She could barely recognize her own voice, the Noise distorting it into something alien. "I won't…give in! So don't worry! I won't…lose…control!"

"S…Sonia?" Lyra said.

"I'll fight back…against Meteor G…but…I can't…do it…alone! Please…help me!"

She held firm against the Noise, but it was steadily wearing her down. Just when she began to wonder how long she could last, she could feel Lyra pushing alongside her, making the monumental task suddenly seem so much less imposing. Immediately, it was as if Sonia's strength had been renewed. Her eyes snapped open—they were glowing red.

"200%," Sonia and Lyra said in unison.

Joker's expression flattened. "What…?"

"250%...300%!"

Joker dropped Sonia and moved away. She landed on her feet, swaying slightly before standing tall. He muttered, "This shouldn't be possible…your will was so weak before!"

"You should've listened," Sonia said. "I'm fighting to protect Lyra…and she's fighting to protect me!"

"All you've done is brought out the strength of our bond, Joker," Lyra said. "Remember that…as we use that strength to defeat you!"

Together, they both shouted, "Finalize!"

Noise obscured Sonia for only a few moments. Then it passed, and Joker stepped back when he saw how she had changed. The central part of her heavy-looking dress was deep burgundy, while the sides were bright scarlet, the lines that divided them and circled her familiar heart plate had turned gold, and the jumpsuit beneath was an ashy gray. She had large points on her shoulders like he did, but rather than curving they jutted straight out on an angle, and were flatter like fins. Red, gold, and gray colored her upper arms, her forearms now protected by two triangular guards that were mostly red, with a gold-lined iron gray center, all growing from her large red bracelets. The knees of her greaves and the lines running down them were gold, and the enlarged, bulbous armored boots now closely resembled Joker's—burgundy inside and scarlet outside—though her feet were encased in a more solid sheet of iron gray, and that color ran between the two gold lines on each shin. Her helmet and visor had both turned red as well, the nodes atop her head now gold and significantly smaller, while on her forehead was a tall horseshoe-shaped crest of gray metal with a gold, triangular emblem at its base, and more gray lining the lower edge of the headgear and running down and under her jaw. A long, bright red scarf hung behind her as she stood there, staring at him with a solemn look on her face.

"Red…Joker…" Sonia said.

She raised one hand. In it appeared a massive harp guitar, gray iron down its neck to where the strings were anchored, while the rounded, red body of it shot up at one corner and arced gracefully towards the head, its end molded to resemble a shooting star: Meteor G. Sonia turned slightly so she could aim its head at the block pinning Solo down. She plucked a single string, and the instrument fired a focused beam of Noise that knocked the hunk of metal onto its side.

"Ridiculous!" Joker said. "How could Meteor G heed the call of one as weak as you?! Why would it grant you its power?!"

Sonia faced him. She hit the ground with the bottom of her guitar as if it were a scepter, and behind her appeared two gray and red standing speakers that were almost twice as tall as she was. Her eyes flashed, and then bright orange Noise began to dance around the speakers endlessly.

"I'm not repeating myself again," she said calmly. "If you want to surrender, I'll give you one last chance. Please, take it. For Dr. Goodall's sake."

"…Surrender?" Joker began to walk towards her. "You think I would ever surrender?"

Sonia readied her guitar. "No, I don't."

She began to play. Noise-infused sound waves blasted out from the speakers, stopping Joker in his tracks and even pushing him back slightly. The onslaught was deafening, but Joker endured it, taking aim with one of his beams. Sonia sidestepped it and retaliated with the same move. The head of her guitar lit up as Joker reeled—Battle Cards appeared to orbit around it, stopping when she tapped one and swiped it down. It became a point of light that shot down the neck of the instrument, and then a portion of the body displayed a Big Drop card. Sonia resumed playing, and this time, every note summoned a massive block of stone in the air above Joker. He evaded several of them before punching one apart as it fell, and fired another beam at Sonia. She kept playing even as she took the hit, and before Joker knew it, he was buried under half a dozen or so of the rocks.

From where he watched, King snickered. "Well now...this is a most unexpected result…"

Joker yelled. The blocks shot out in every direction as Noise exploded from him—Sonia fired her strings at one of them, swinging it around to smack right back into her foe. He punched the ground, and though Sonia managed to dodge the metal blocks that appeared, they did hide him from view long enough for him to close in. Joker punched Sonia back into one of them, but she ducked beneath his follow-up and grabbed the block by its base. Pulling it around, she knocked Joker's feet out from under him, and then raised the weapon overhead only to smash it down on top of him. She leapt away and swiped another Battle Card into her guitar as Joker pulled himself up. Now when she played, missiles shot out from her speakers to home in on Joker; he was surprised at first, taking direct hits from several, but then clapped his hands together and sent out a shockwave of Noise that detonated the rest. He turned to see Sonia right in front of him, swinging her harp guitar as a bludgeon. The force was enough to hurl him back against one of the speakers, and then she played, letting the intense sound rattle through him at point-blank range.

Whatever curses Joker yelled, they were drowned out by the sound of the speakers. But he didn't stop at words: he spun and buried his fist in the speaker directly behind him, rendering it inoperable, and then whipped around to send it flying towards Sonia. She jumped out of the way, but Joker was on top of her at once. Sonia kept her guard strong as kicks rained battered her, but Joker's relentless assault steadily wore her down, and he finished with an overhead swing of his fist that slammed her into the floor. Her vision blurred for just a moment, and then she leapt back up fist-first. With a mighty uppercut, Sonia knocked Joker off his feet, and then she aimed her guitar and blasted him once for good measure.

"Rrrgh…so, you do know how to wield strength when it is given to you," Joker said as he got up. "But if these attacks are the best you can muster, they will not be enough to overpower me!"

He charged. Sonia swung her guitar high, forcing him to duck and punch. She took the hit to her side, wincing, and then pulled her instrument down, hooking the space between its neck and the offshoot of the body around Joker's neck. Using it to leverage him, she pulled him down face-first, diving after him to punch his skull as hard as she could. She hung on as he stood up—he couldn't reach her, and she pulled on her guitar at just the right angle so he couldn't push it off, leaving her relatively safe to repeatedly hammer her knee into his back.

"I've got enough!" Sonia said.

Joker stomped one foot. A shadow appeared over Sonia, and she jumped away as a metal block landed just a centimeter away from Joker's back. Her guitar dispersed into Noise and flew back to her hand to reform. Joker ran at her, so she shot her strings at the block he had just summoned and pulled herself forward, clotheslining him with her free arm. She stood atop the block, playing to charge energy as Joker just glared at her.

"Incredible…" Geo muttered. "Sonia couldn't even scratch him earlier. I know Ace weakened him, but even still…I can't believe how much stronger that Finalized form makes her."

"Eh, it's alright," Mega said. "She can show off for now, but once we figure it out, I'm sure we'll show her up."

"It's not a competition, Mega."

Geo glanced over at Solo, who sat watching the fight with an expression he couldn't quite read. He then looked back at Ace, on his feet now, but leaning against the wall for support as he panted heavily. Unfortunately, he didn't see Joker look over at them as well.

Sonia shouted a warning. Joker fired a beam at Geo, but he didn't realize in time to react to it. At the last second, Solo pushed him to the ground, the beam narrowly missing both of them to hit an empty portion of wall. Joker scowled at the sight, and then stumbled back as Sonia's guitar was thrown directly at his head.

"You leave them out of this!" Sonia said as she walked over to him, her fists glowing with Noise. "You're fighting me right now!"

Joker stepped back as she punched. "Why do you care about them so much? They are weak! If they cannot defend themselves—"

"Then _I'll_ defend them!"

Joker dodged another punch before moving to counter. Sonia swung one of her arms aside to push his arm out of the way, and drove her other fist straight into his face, Noise bursting around him on impact.

"I know you won't understand," Sonia said, pressing her advantage with more blows to Joker's chest. "I don't care if someone is strong or weak! If they're alive, then I want to keep it that way! I don't want the people they love to have to lose someone! Can you imagine how that feels? Can you imagine how your mother will feel if something happens to you?!"

Joker caught her next punch. Striking her in the face, he shouted, " _Nothing will_!"

Sonia recoiled, but Joker maintained his grip and pulled her back in, punching her again.

"Mother made me strong enough to fight for myself! She will never have to know what it feels like to lose me!"

Rage flared in Sonia's eyes. She threw herself forward, headbutting Joker in the teeth, and shouted, "She already has!"

Joker lost his grip, turning aside as pain shot through him.

"You left her so you could preserve your precious strength! She's hurting so much, Joker, and it's all _your_ fault! How do you not realize that?!"

When he turned back, a look of genuine confusion was on his face. But only for a moment. Then, he came forward to throw another punch. Sonia spun and grabbed his arm, kicked at his ankle, and pulled, flipping him over and onto his back. She raised one hand, summoning her harp guitar to it, and then slammed it down onto him in an explosion of Noise.

"Not being able to think of how other people might feel is bad enough!" Sonia said. "But what's worse, you ran away from the only people you actually cared about, and refuse to see what you did to them! You keep blaming everyone else, but you're the one giving up everything else to focus on nothing but being strong for its own sake!"

She jumped away as Joker leapt up. Playing quickly, she charged more energy into her guitar.

"But I'm wasting my breath, aren't I? Fine! If strength is all you'll understand, then listen up: I'm about to tell you something you can't ignore!"

A red aura enveloped Sonia. Drawing his hands apart, Joker gained an identical glow, saying, "Stupid girl! You understand nothing! And I shall prove it to you once and for all!"

They both fired at the same time. Two immense beams of Noise met in the center of the room, colliding head-on and coming to a screeching halt as each fought to overpower the other. Slowly, Joker's beam began to gain ground.

"Strength conquers all!" he shouted. "I was born to be strong, and I refuse to fail in that mission! I will prove that Mother's design is flawless—I will make her proud!"

Sonia shook her head. "Joker…wasn't she already proud of you?"

He didn't answer. But Sonia knew she had larger concerns, as her prospects of winning their clash grew only bleaker. Joker's beam had nearly consumed hers, and though she funneled more and more power into her attack, nothing seemed to change. Not until Geo appeared behind Joker.

"Geo?!"

He raised his buster—it was still glowing red from the card he had used earlier. A rapid stream of giant energy shots slammed into the back of Joker's head, and his beam began to lose intensity as his focus wavered.

"Get out of there!" Sonia shouted. "It's dangerous!"

"That's exactly why I won't!" Geo said. "I'm not going to abandon you when you need my help, Sonia! That's not what Brothers do!"

"But Geo…!"

"Trust me! If we work together, there's no way we can lose! Isn't that right?"

Sonia hesitated for one moment. But only one.

"…You're right. Let's put an end to this!"

Joker's beam was still gaining, if only just barely. Sonia dug in her heels as she began thinking of something else to try. But, to her surprise, there was a flash of light just to her side, and she felt a surge of energy rush through her. Turning, she saw Solo standing there with a glyph in his hand.

"Solo? What are—"

"Just take him down!" Solo said. "This has gone on long enough, and I have other matters to attend to!"

Sonia grimaced. "I'm doing my best here!"

"I know. So to speed things up…I'm giving you a little of my power."

"…Huh?"

"You heard me! I know you can handle Murian power, so just…put it to good use, alright?"

Sonia smiled. "…Alright. If you insist!"

She focused again on the beam she was firing. Immediately, it doubled in intensity, rapidly gaining back the ground it had lost and encroaching further upon Joker's territory. The Wizard pushed back with all his might, slowing the shifting balance just before he was about to be overwhelmed.

"I…will not…lose…to you!" he said. "I am Grave Joker! The strength of Meteor G belongs to me! My power…will conquer…all!"

Sonia opened her mouth to say something. Realizing it wouldn't help, she closed it again. On the edge of her vision, she saw someone else moving, but as she didn't dare split her focus, she couldn't be sure until he spoke.

"Sorry for bailing on you there, Sonia," Ace said. "Might be a little late, but mind if I lend you a hand?"

Sonia chuckled. "Your timing's perfect!"

Ace's hands lit up with Noise. Holding them forward, he said, "Alright, everybody! Give it all you've got!"

A second later, he added his Noise to Sonia's beam. That was enough to tip the balance. Sonia's laser swallowed up Joker's, and Geo teleported out just as the torrent of Noise washed over the bewildered Wizard. The attack raged on for a short time longer before ceasing, and a wave of exhaustion overcame Sonia, Solo, and Ace. Geo appeared next to Sonia just as she fell forward, catching her shoulder. She grinned up at him, exuding a sense of relief.

"Thanks," she said. "To all of you."

She tensed briefly as a strange sensation moved through her. The armor of her Red Joker form slowly broke down into Noise, leaving her in her base state, and suddenly she felt even more tired.

"Guess I haven't quite mastered it yet…"

A laugh from King caught her attention. He said, "Be that as it may, you've still done a spectacular job, Harp Note. Not to mention generated a good deal more Crimson for me, ho ho ho!"

Sonia leveled a glare at the screen. Before she could say anything, however, she heard a door open, and turned to see Jack and Tia walk into the room.

"…Hm?" King said. "Are my eyes deceiving me? Or have the rest of my children finally come home as well?"

"Cut the crap," Jack said. "You really are batshit insane if you think we ever considered you our father!"

"Mr. King," Tia said. "There is only one thing we need from you."

King leaned forward. "Oh? And what is that, my dear?"

"We want the Crimson. All of it."

King paused. "…And why, pray tell, would I agree to that?"

Jack cracked his knuckles. "I can hack the lock on that vault in seconds! And without Joker at your side, there won't be anyone to stop us from beating you within an inch of your life!"

Tia turned to Ace, who was staring at the both of them. She looked away without saying a word.

King tapped his fingers. "Hmmm, what to do? Much as I hate to admit it, I am in quite the bad spot now that Joker's been defeated…"

The sound of one heavy footstep could be heard. Sonia felt a chill run up her spine. Everyone turned to see Joker back on his feet, his armor badly damaged and holding onto one shoulder as he leaned to one side.

"No…" he groaned. "I am…not…defeated…I cannot…be…!"

"Good heavens," Lyra said, "he's as stubborn as they come!"

"This is looking real bad," Mega said. "We might still be able to put Joker down, but if those two interfere…"

Corvus appeared, saying, "Haha, scared, little Mega? Why don't you run crying back to Wolf and see if he'll save you?"

"Last I remember you were running away from him."

"Hmph! Come over here and say that again!"

Virgo laughed. "Yeah, come on, I'm itching to kill someone! Lemme, lemme!"

Joker took another step. "My strength…cannot fail! I will finish you…whatever it takes!"

Sonia shook. She tried desperately to think of a way out, but the odds were clearly not in the favor. The only real option they had was to call for the others and hope they could hold out until then. But, even that didn't seem very promising in the face of their current dilemma.

"Well then," King said, clapping his hands together. "I'm not so proud I won't admit to having a bad hand—quite unfortunate, considering my recent winning streak. But, I do have another game to get to, so I can't be doing anything too risky. All things considered…" He pressed a button on his chair. "I fold."

Joker lurched. His body began to glow red, but not with Noise—there was something different this time, and even Joker seemed not to know what it was.

"M…Mr. King?" he asked.

"Joker, you have done such an excellent job," King said. "But now that I am within arm's reach of my goal, I'm afraid I have no further need for Dealer. So, I'm sending you out with a bang…oh, and, do take those interlopers with you, if you would be so kind."

"W-Wait," Joker said, shuffling towards the screen, "you can't! This isn't…I can't…"

Everyone slowly came to the horrifying realization of what was happening, but no one spoke, as if that was the only thing that would make it real. It was Mega who finally shouted, "You…you're going to blow up Joker?!""

"Not just Joker," King said, starting to shuffle cards in his hand. "The blast should decimate this entire facility and everyone in it. Well, save for Heartless and myself, thanks to this vault I keep on hand."

Tia's eyes were wide. Jack nervously looked up at her, saying, "Sis…what should we—"

She grabbed him. "Run, Jack!"

They were out the door in seconds, Tia practically pushing Jack the whole way. Geo helped Sonia that way, but they were too bruised to move with any semblance of speed, and Solo wasn't moving much faster.

"No!" Joker said. "No, this can't be! I can't…I can't…be deleted! Not with all this strength! No!"

King rolled his eyes. "My word, were you always this dramatic?"

The screen shut off. Joker put his hands to his head, staring at the floor and saying, "No, no, no, no, NO!"

He was flashing now, the explosive energy building up quickly within his body. As the others worked to make their escape, Ace just stood there, staring at him.

"…Acid," he said quietly.

"I agree," Acid said.

"Are you really sure?"

"I am."

"You won't hate me for this?"

"I am incapable of hating you, Ace. You are my friend."

Ace chuckled. "…Thanks, buddy. Okay…here goes."

Sonia and Geo were at the door now, but they stopped and looked back just then, seeing Ace run at Joker and grab him by the shoulders.

"Ace?!" Sonia shouted.

Ace began to glow red as well. He gave a short grunt, and then said, "Keep going! Don't stop!"

"What are you doing?! Get away from him!"

"You heard King: this blast will level the whole place if we don't do something! I can absorb and diffuse some of the energy, but I don't know how much it'll help!"

"But what about you?" Geo asked.

"Just go!"

"No!" Sonia said. "We're not leaving you, Ace! You need to make it out of here too!"

Ace shook his head. "Sorry, Sonia…but this is the only way! Now get going! We're running out of time!"

"We have to help him!" Sonia said. She tried to run over to him, but to her surprise, Geo held her back.

"Sonia," Geo said, "we…we can't!"

"What?! But—"

"I know! I'm sorry! But look at what's happening: there's really no other option! We still need to deal with Meteor G, and Ace is giving us a chance to do that! I really wish we could save him, but…we can't, Sonia! If we try, we won't be able to save anyone!"

Sonia looked back and forth frantically. She wished she could argue, but she knew she couldn't.

"It's too late anyway, Sonia!" Ace said. "I've already absorbed too much of this energy to make it out! Sorry, but there's nothing you can do for me now!"

Geo started to push Sonia along. She called, "But, Ace!"

"Go do what you do best, Harp Note!" Ace replied. "The world needs saving! I know you can do it!"

With great reluctance, Sonia finally turned away, and soon they were gone. Ace let out a breath. Joker seemed to finally become aware of him, and grabbed him by the chest, glaring at him angrily as if it were somehow his fault. Ace ignored him and looked down. Soon, he began to chuckle.

With an enraged grunt, Joker asked, "Is something funny?!"

As he looked up at Joker, Ace's façade finally fell away: his smile was gone, and his gaze was one of confusion and fear. "I wanted this for the longest time…I thought it would make up for what I've done wrong. But now that I'm here…I…I'm actually scared to d—"

* * *

Notes:

-I went back and forth on it right down to the wire. But, ultimately, this is the decision I made. Ace is dead. Dead dead. He's not coming back in this story. I'll get more into the reasons why next time.

-To give him a sendoff, I thought it'd be neat to see him properly Finalize for once—I talked before about the importance of "Grave" Joker, and "Grand" Ace seemed a fitting counterpart. The form is actually a prototype design for Black Ace Mega Man that I saw in the OCW and thought looked incredibly cool.

-And finally we have Red Joker Harp Note! Her shoulder armor and helmet draw from Red Joker Mega Man, and her arm guards are actually based on his shin guards; Grave Joker is the inspiration for her dress and greaves, though her feet lean more towards RJMM. And of course, gigantic speakers seemed the best form to give her Noise generators. Being all about power, I wanted to try to focus this form on loud music, which is a big part of why it was difficult to think of a good focus for Black Ace Harp Note since quiet music…might not've been as fun. And while putting this together, I stumbled across the harp guitar and realized I obviously had to have some version of Harp Note use it, and Red Joker is a perfect fit for such a bulky instrument.

-I decided when I started that I didn't want Sonia to use Battle Cards because I wanted to focus on her unique abilities plus the powerups, and worried using cards would make her feel just the same as Mega Man. Of course, Finalizing grants her access to the Meteor Folder, and now that I'm here and figured out a slightly altered way for her to use them through her guitar…kind of wish I'd been using them all along. Where was this idea four years ago?!

-This concludes our second act. The final act may not be a long one, but it's going to be packed full!


	34. Chapter 34

Sonia had her eyes on the floor as she made her way down the hall of the hospital. She only looked up as she rounded the now-familiar corner, and immediately stopped short. Stepping out of her mother's room was a tall, slender woman with pink hair, wrapped in a long black coat and giving her a look of surprise as she too came to a halt. Sonia had no idea who this person was, or what to say. Before she could think of anything, the woman smiled at her, and walked off without a word.

 _Who was that?_

She entered the room to find her mother wiping her eyes. "Mama?"

Rosa jumped a little. "O-Oh, Sonia! I'm sorry, I…"

Sonia rushed to her bedside. "What happened, Mama? Did that woman upset you?"

"It's…it's nothing she did." She breathed deeply, and then looked up at Sonia with a weary smile. "Sorry, kiddo. I'll be alright."

Hesitantly, Sonia sat down on the edge of the bed. "Who was that?"

Glancing aside, Rosa said, "She's…an old friend. She heard about my condition and wanted to come say goodbye."

Sonia fidgeted.

Rosa turned back. "…Sonia?"

"You'll be okay, won't you?" the girl asked quietly.

"…Sonia…like I said before…I probably don't have much time."

"But, we can't know for sure! Maybe we'll still find a way for you to recover! There's no need for anyone to say goodbye when you're still here!"

"Maybe. But, they won't have a chance to say it when I'm gone."

Sonia looked down. Rosa reached out and set a hand on her head.

"I'm sorry, Sonia," she said. "I'm so sorry this is the situation we're in. But…we need to be prepared for the worst. And part of that is saying goodbye."

Her daughter leaned forward and wrapped her arms around her, trembling fiercely. Rosa hugged her back with what little strength she had.

"I don't want to lose you, Mama!" Sonia sobbed. "I'm not ready to lose you! What am I supposed to do without you?"

"The same thing you'd do if I was here. Live your life."

"Alone?"

"No, not alone. You'll make friends, maybe fall in love, find wonderful people to share your life with."

"But…not you…"

Rosa bit her lip. "…No, sweetie. But I'll be up in Heaven watching over you."

"But I need you here!"

Rosa could only bury her face in Sonia's shoulder. She let her cry, and when she was finally done, she pulled back slightly and sat there, staring down with a look of hopelessness.

"I wish things could be different, Sonia," Rosa said, reaching out to wipe away her tears. "If there was any way I could change it, I would. I want to be here for you as long as you'll need me. But it just isn't up to me. Sometimes you lose people before you're ready to…it isn't fair, but sometimes it happens. And when it does, you need to decide how you're going to react to it, no matter how much you wish it wasn't happening."

Sonia looked up to meet her gaze.

"Horrible as it is…you're going to be here without me. But please, Sonia: don't stop living your life. Don't stop being you. I know it'll be sad, and lonely, and painful, but don't let it stop you from doing all the things you want to do, all the things you can do. You'll still be able to shape your life into something wonderful without me here to help. And that'll make me so happy."

More tears came to Sonia's eyes. Rosa pulled her back in.

* * *

A dull pain occupied Sonia's heart as she watched Goodall and Vega work. Luna was next to her, firmly holding her hand, but even that couldn't quite cut through it. The two doctors turned—the screen they were working at flashed, and with a flurry of particles, Acid appeared between them. The Wizard looked about curiously.

"…Accessing AMAKEN system," he said. "Synchronizing internal clock…I see. Then I presume my former body was destroyed during the attack on Dealer?"

"It was," Vega quietly replied.

Acid waited a moment before asking, "Where is Ace?"

Sonia swallowed hard. Luna squeezed her hand.

"Acid," Sonia said. "Ace…Ace is gone."

Acid simply turned to face her.

"King…he rigged Joker to explode—he said it would be enough to level the entire hideout. You and Ace went to absorb the energy he was using, to try to weaken the blast…it was because of that the rest of us were able to escape. But…"

Acid nodded once. "I see. Thank you."

A long, suffocating silence filled the room.

"Where is King now?" Acid asked.

Sonia closed her eyes to fight back tears. "…We don't know."

"Is there a way I can assist in locating him?"

"I believe there is," Goodall said, starting towards the door. "Right this way, please."

Taken by surprise, Sonia said, "D-Dr. Goodall…"

The old woman turned and smiled at her. "It's alright, dear."

She and Acid left. Vega said nothing more, and soon she left as well. Luna just stood there, waiting patiently as Sonia worked to process what she was feeling. Sonia glanced at her briefly before averting her gaze; Luna tugged on her sleeve, prompting her to turn back, and stepped closer to her. With a sigh, Sonia leaned forward to rest her head on Luna's shoulder.

"I…just…" she murmured, followed by a long grunt made of syllables that didn't quite form a proper word. The tears began to flow slowly from her eyes. "…It's too much."

Luna gently put her arms around Sonia, saying, "Talk to me. I want to help you."

Sonia groaned. "I'm confused…I'm sad…and worried, and…I'm…mad. And I'm not really okay with being mad."

"Mad at King?"

"Of course, but also…part of me is mad at…Ace."

Luna paused. "Why's that?"

Sonia balled her fists. "He just…he decided to die! After I just told him not to, told him he mattered—he knew we would miss him! But he did it anyway! He didn't try to find another way, he…"

After waiting to be sure she wouldn't interrupt, Luna said, "The way you explained it, it doesn't sound like there was another way."

"Maybe not once he had already started absorbing energy, but before that, there might've been!"

"The blast was going to destroy the entire facility, wasn't it? I saw how beaten up you looked when you got back: you and Geo never would have made it out in the state you were in."

Sonia sighed. Luna adjusted her arms slightly, and Sonia rolled her head onto its side and stared blankly at the corner.

"Sonia," Luna said. "I understand why you're mad. You value life so much that someone being willing to give theirs up doesn't really make sense to you. But, honestly…I think Ace made the best decision he could make in that situation. What he did saved you, so I can't bring myself to be mad at him for doing that. Maybe I'm biased that way."

"…I understand," Sonia said. She could hear Luna's heartbeat, and that helped her calm down a little. "…Maybe it isn't really Ace I'm mad at…maybe it's what that choice might mean."

She slid her arms up around Luna.

"I don't want to think about if…if maybe we really _do_ need to make such terrible compromises in life…but if we don't, then it's like saying Ace died for no reason, and I don't want to think that either. I'm stuck, and confused, and frustrated. And…this isn't even over yet."

She pulled away from Luna as the ache in her heart deepened, taking a few steps and running her hands up over her face.

"King's still out there, somewhere, ready to use Meteor G to destroy the world. I have to stop him, but even if we can find him time…I don't know what I'm going to do when I see him again."

"What do you mean?" Luna asked.

Turning, Sonia said, "This time is…different. King talked to me, explained himself, but that only made everything worse. Usually I can think of a way to help someone once they talk to me—at the very least, I can understand where they're coming from even if I really disagree with them. But King…I can't begin to make sense of the leaps in logic he's taken. I should understand him now, but I don't, not one bit, and it…it scares me, Luna. Especially now that I've seen what he's capable of up close."

Luna stepped forward. She reached up, adjusting some stray strands of Sonia's hair, and said, "It's okay to be scared, Sonia. And it's okay to admit that you don't understand something. Knowing you, you'll keep trying, and maybe you will figure it out. But, even if you don't, I know you'll still find a way to solve this."

Sonia didn't say anything. Luna reached past her head to pull her hood up, and then yanked on the sides as she leaned in to kiss her. A bright spark seared right through the pain she felt.

"I believe in you," Luna mumbled, blushing only a little. "After all, you've got all of us here to support you, so there's no way you can lose!"

Despite herself, Sonia giggled. "Of course."

"And…we're going to _stay_ by your side. So whatever life does end up throwing at you, whatever situations you are forced into…whenever possible, we'll do whatever we can to prevent you from needing to compromise on anything truly important. Okay?"

Sonia nodded. "Okay. Thank you."

She was about to steal another kiss when a glint outside the window caught their eye. When they turned, they saw a bright red beam of some kind cutting through the sky, falling straight down until it disappeared below the horizon. A small tremor reached them. The beam vanished soon after, but the dread it instilled in them only grew stronger.

"There's a news bulletin," Lyra said. "Hope you don't mind…"

A screen popped up beside the two of them. It displayed an image of a small island just off the coast, its landscape pulverized to bits, immense fissures dividing it up at random. A fog of Noise hung over the ruined landmass. Sonia bristled.

"This is King," she said. "It's got to be. Is he putting his plans in motion already?"

"What we need to be asking is how do we respond?" Lyra said. "We've yet to pick up his trail, after all—there's no telling where he could be hiding."

A chime sounded as she finished speaking. At the bottom of the screen there appeared a mail icon, so Sonia reached out and tapped it.

"King is utilizing an orbital base," it read. "Attached is a key to gain access via Astro Wave. Hurry."

Sonia blinked. "…What?"

"Interesting," Lyra said. "There is a key attached, just as it said. This is…almost too good to be true."

"You think it's some kind of trap?"

"It's quite possible. After all, who would even be able to send us something like this?"

Sonia thought for a moment, and then dismissed the screen. Turning to Luna, she said, "I have to try. It might be the only chance I get."

"You're not going alone, are you?" Luna asked sternly.

"It doesn't sound like I have much time, but I'll see if I can grab someone."

Luna's face hung in a state that teetered on the edge of scowling. "…Alright. Be careful."

"I will."

Sonia ran out of the lab and down the hall, sliding a little as she burst into another room. Geo and Pat sat on a bench there, grasping each other's hands as they watched the same news, and they looked up sharply as Sonia entered.

"Sonia?" Geo asked. "Did you see this too?"

"I did," she said, "and I got a message. Someone told me where King is hiding."

"W-What?!"

"It might be bogus, but we can't afford to pass it up. Are you up to coming with me?"

Geo turned to Pat. The boy nodded, saying, "Yeah, go. I'll be okay. Just stay safe!"

Pausing to give him a kiss, Geo got up and followed Sonia outside. "Just us?"

"Yeah, apparently we need to hurry."

"Alright. So, where are we headed exactly?"

* * *

The interior of the base was simple as could be, an empty room of cold metal with barely a window to see the vast expanse of space beyond its walls. At one side was a massive device of some kind, glowing eerily as it hummed along. Another wall was occupied by a large viewscreen and its control panel, showing the news feed as it reported on the devastated island, and King looked up at it with a less than satisfied expression.

"I'm surprised, Mr. King," Heartless said as she walked up behind him. "I expected you to have a speech prepared for the moment you revealed you have Meteor G under your thumb."

"I did," King said. "However, due to that mysterious interference, I thought it best to hold off for the time being."

The viewscreen blinked, now showing Meteor G as it drew ever closer to Earth.

"You see, I had instructed Meteor G to attack the AMAKEN facility…but it would seem whoever else has a share of Meteor G was able to redirect its attack to an uninhabited area. I'd look like something of a fool if I gave a speech and then misfired like that."

"Yes, quite."

King leaned back in his chair. "Hm. The attack was still carried out, meaning my foe's control over Meteor G is not absolute. But then, neither is mine. Now, how do I proceed…?"

Suddenly, the lights flickered. King looked up in surprise. He turned his chair around, and when he did, Jack and Tia were standing before him, both Wave Changed. King hummed.

"Mr. King," Tia said. "We still have matters to discuss."

"I suppose I shouldn't be all that surprised you found this place," King said, leaning on one elbow. "What is it that you want, children? Can't you see I'm very busy right now?"

"Having some trouble?" Jack asked. "Don't sweat it: in just a minute, you won't have to worry about anything at all!"

Ignoring him, King said, "You said something about wanting the Crimson? What is it you hoped to accomplish with that?"

"Controlling Meteor G, of course," Tia said. "We wish to see it crash into the surface of the Earth."

"It's on track to do just that. I'm certainly not about to stop it."

Tia narrowed her eyes. "…Is that so?"

"I simply wanted to cause a little extra terror and destruction prior to that. If that's all, I really must get back to it." King returned to the screen.

"Not so fast. Whether you're telling the truth or not is irrelevant…once we kill you, we shall ensure Meteor G cannot be stopped."

King tilted his head. "Kill me? That's no way to speak to your father."

"Bullshit!" Jack said. "Our real father died years ago! You just scooped us and all those other kids up to play soldier for you while you sat back and reaped the rewards!"

"Caring for us was only a means to an end," Tia said. "You sent them all to die, King. And for that, there must be retribution."

King turned and stared at her for a time. Quietly, he said, "I too was saddened by their loss."

Tia's eyes were practically aglow with fury. "You were _saddened_? I was the one who watched them die! I was the one who felt the life drain out of their bodies! Can you hear them weep in your nightmares, King? Do you see their faces out of the corner of your eye? Have you had every last shred of your own hope wither and die within you until you float through life as an empty husk?! Don't tell me you were _saddened_ by their deaths, King! You cannot even comprehend the atrocities your pointless campaign has inflicted!"

She pointed her staff forward.

"I will put their souls to rest once and for all!"

King tapped his desk. In an instant, Jack and Tia's Wave Changes were undone, and they stumbled back in alarm.

"What the hell?!" Jack asked. "Corvus, what gives?"

"Shit, there's some kind of Noise interfering with the Wave Change!" Corvus replied.

"No fair!" Virgo said. "I wanted to kill him!"

Tia looked back up at King, her fury replaced with fear. The man's face was set as he hit another button. A ring of energy appeared around her, binding her arms to her sides—another appeared around Jack.

"You two need to be punished severely," King said.

The rings began to tighten. The pain was immediately unbearable, numbing Tia's mind for a moment as it overwhelmed her. Then she heard Jack scream and it all can into agonizingly clear focus.

"N…No!" she groaned. "S-Stop…! Let Jack…go!"

"And why would I do that?" King asked.

Tia clenched her teeth, doing her best to hold on as the pain only intensified. "It was…my idea…to come here! Jack was…just…following me! Let him go…please…!"

King rubbed his chin. "Hm…well, since you were so polite…"

He tapped his desk again. The ring holding Tia disappeared, letting her drop to the floor. The one holding Jack only continued to tighten.

"No!" Tia shouted, leaping towards her brother. She grabbed at the binding, trying desperately to get her fingers under it and loosen it, but it was already too tight.

"S…is…" Jack said. His eyes fluttered; he tried to scream, but he had no breath remaining. Tia's panic consumed her.

"Jack, no! King, please, just let him go! I can't lose him too, I can't, please!"

King just laughed. Tia kept struggling in vain to save her brother, whose eyes were now rolling back into his head. She screamed…and then the ring holding Jack disappeared, letting him drop into Tia's arms.

"What?!" King said.

Tia clutched Jack close, cradling his head as she cried quietly over him. "It's okay, Jack…it's okay…it's okay…"

King tapped his desk again, but this time nothing happened. He tried a few more times before shouting, "Impossible! What is the meaning of this? Heartless, run a diagnostic on this place!"

Heartless silently walked past him.

"Heartless!"

She turned to look at him, a chilling smirk on her face. Then, she raised her hand, and gave a simple snap. A Noise Wave opened up directly beneath King. His face went white.

"W…wh…at?"

Heartless threw her head back and cackled. " _Yes_! Oh, I've never had to wait so long, but it's always worth it! That face they make when it all comes crashing down around them is _priceless_ , ahahahah!"

"H-Heartless!" King shouted, his arms scrambling as his chair was slowly pulled down into the Noise. "Explain this!"

"I was the only one you thought would never turn on you, wasn't I?" she said, bringing one palm to the side of her face as she grinned at him. "Surprise! You've been surrounded by traitors this whole time!"

The majority of King's chair had been pulled under now. Reaching out to claw at the floor, he said, "What…what is it you want? What are you after?!"

"All you need to know is that I'm in the business of…let's call it 'karma'. And you know what they say about karma." Heartless tossed her hair. "It's a real bitch."

King shouted, but his cries were cut short as the Noise Wave swallowed him up. Heartless sighed loudly as she walked across the room, Tia watching her very closely as she did.

"You almost ruined it, you know," Heartless said. "You should've just kept your distance."

Tia held Jack tighter.

"Relax, sweetie. I'm not going to hurt you. Harp Note's on her way, and she'd be awfully distraught if she found you two dead. Why do you think I stopped his attack?"

Jack stirred. Tia looked down as he opened his eyes, saying, "Jack?!"

"Sis?" He sat up. "What…where's King?"

"Gone," Heartless said. "Paying for his sins in the bowels of his own Noise."

Jack leapt to his feet. "What? _You_ took out King?!"

Heartless turned, saying, "Oh, I'd rather not go over it all again. Will you two be on your way? Harp Note will be here any moment, and surely she'll attempt to stop you."

"If she does, we can take her!" Jack said. "Right, Sis?"

Tia Wave Changed, turning to the large, glowing device in the wall. She blasted it with water, blowing a hole into it, and Noise streamed out of the gaping metal.

"…Sis?"

"…Now Meteor G cannot be stopped," Tia said. "Tell Harp Note we'll be waiting there if she still wants to try."

She turned and started off. Jack ran after her, Wave Changing quickly, and they both disappeared. Heartless shook her head, and then stood there examining her nails as she waited.

It wasn't much longer before she heard new footsteps. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Sonia and Geo approaching her, Wave Changes still active as they cautiously scanned the place. Heartless turned and smiled at them.

"So glad you could join me," she said. "Unfortunately, Jack and Queen Tia interrupted, so I had to go ahead and deal with Mr. King myself. Hope you don't mind."

"…Jack and Ms. Tia are here?" Geo asked.

"Sorry, just missed them."

Sonia stared at her a moment longer. "How did you know how to reach me? Why did you bring us here—aren't you working for Dealer? Who…who are you?"

Heartless looked up at the ceiling. "Well…I'm something of a freelance espionage professional. I infiltrate various organizations, learn all I can about them, and then destroy them from within. It's something I find quite satisfying. For several years now, I've been in deep cover in Dealer under the alias of 'Heartless' in the pursuit of a very particular goal."

"So you're on our side?" Mega asked.

"More or less," Heartless said, adding a non-committal shrug.

"Yeah, that's real trustworthy…"

"Alright," Sonia said, "but that doesn't explain how you got my contact information."

"I have had to make one or two excursions in recent years," Heartless said. "Most recently, I had to stop at NAZA to let them know I was sending someone useful their way."

"Sending someone to NAZA…" Geo said. "Wait, are you saying you helped Ace escape Dealer?"

Heartless nodded. "While I was there, I may have poked around a bit and found a way to get in touch with the legendary Harp Note, expecting the need would arise sooner or later. And of course, it did. Though things didn't go exactly according to plan…"

Sonia continued to stare. Then, she deactivated her Wave Change, and took a step forward. "That doesn't answer my question. Who are you? I remember you…just barely, but I remember you visiting Mama right before she died."

Heartless raised her eyebrows. "You remember that? I'm touched. But I'm afraid that will have to wait for now." She turned and started to walk. "We should head back to AMAKEN before I get into all the details. There's some very important information to cover, and I'm sure everyone will—"

"No."

Heartless looked back at Sonia. The girl had locked a fierce gaze onto her.

"I'm not going anywhere until you answer me. I'm tired of getting pulled around by everyone and never getting any explanation until it's already too late. So tell me: who are you? How do you know my mother?"

After a few long, tense moments, Heartless chuckled. "…You look just like her."

She glanced around the room, and then turned back with a sigh.

"Oh, very well. I hate repeating myself, but I can see I won't get you to budge easily. So I'll tell you, Sonia. I'll tell you everything."

* * *

Notes:

-Just about every death in this series has been reversible. The exceptions have all been villains with a complete lack of empathy, so Sonia has been able to more or less put them out of her mind—the ones that bothered her have all come undone. She coped with her mother's death, but since then she hasn't had to cope with death any more. This series is partially about Sonia growing up, and dealing with death just once…isn't really enough to prepare you for the rest of your life. Especially when you avoid it the way Sonia does and see multiple deaths being impermanent during your formative years as she has. So losing Ace, someone Sonia might not've totally got along with but still cared about, forces her to reapply those coping skills and hone them, which is essential to her growth. Having her overwhelmed and confused by the experience is the most consistent reaction for her character, but bringing Ace back would then undermine that. It's unfortunate, but I think it was the best choice.

-The whole bit with the Jamming didn't seem like it would be fun to write/read, so I wanted to get Sonia to the orbital base ASAP. And she had to bring Geo along because…well, you know, THAT reveal. But that's next time.

-"Huh, I haven't really gotten to do much with Jack and Tia lately. Let's make them suffer EXTRA hard to be sure the readers still care about them!"

-Booooy is it fun to finally get to write Heartless's real personality. I am shifting it a bit from the canon portrayal, because I think this depiction will be a touch more interesting without the shock factor to lean on, but I guess you guys will have to tell me how well that works. Next chapter will fully reveal the changes made to her and her backstory, and I'm really excited to share it!

-I'm hoping to cover all the remaining connective tissue next time and get us to Meteor G in chapter 36. But, depending on how long things take, I might end up breaking it into two chapters for pacing's sake, pushing the final dungeon back to 37. Once we get there, it's for sure going to be three chapters and then we're done. Gosh, it's going to bother me forever if we end on 39, but I shouldn't stretch it to 40 just for that…


	35. Chapter 35

"Sonia, I hope you know how much I love you. And I hope you have a wonderful, long, happy life…goodbye."

Rosa tapped her Transer to end the recording. A coughing fit immediately overtook her, lasting for what felt like hours. When it finally stopped, she gasped for air and shakily reached towards the terminal again.

"You look terrible."

She glanced up. Standing just inside her room was a tall, slender woman with pink hair, wrapped in a long black coat. After staring for a moment, she hoarsely asked, "What are you doing here?"

The woman shrugged with one shoulder. "Is it so strange to pay someone a visit when they're in the hospital?" With a grin, she added, "Well, I suppose it is for me."

She came forward and sat at the foot of Rosa's bed. Rosa fidgeted for a moment, and then said, "I'm dying, you know."

She nodded. "I know. That's why I'm here. I figured it wouldn't hurt to say goodbye."

Rosa smirked. "It won't hurt?"

"Don't act surprised. You know that I'm heartless."

They chuckled together. Rosa rubbed her Transer absent-mindedly. Though she already knew the answer, she had to ask. "Once I'm gone…Sonia won't have anybody."

"She's your daughter, isn't she?" the woman said, eyes aimed at the wall. "She's strong enough to handle that."

Rosa sighed. "Of course."

The woman turned towards her slightly. "…I have a lead."

It took Rosa a moment to realize her meaning. Lighting up a bit, she asked, "You do? Really?"

She nodded.

"You're not just making it up so that I can die in peace, are you?"

"You really think I'm that kind?"

Rosa didn't say anything.

"I know where he is. Or, maybe where he's going to be. Either way, I think we'll have a chance to rescue him…but it'll be a few years still before we get it. And in order to be in the right place at the right time, I'm going to need to get cozy with some dangerous people."

"That is what you do best," Rosa muttered.

The woman smiled. "Precisely. But, of course, bringing a child into that…not a wise idea."

"…I suppose not."

"But then, maybe Sonia could handle it. You are planning to use her as a weapon against the FM-ians, aren't you?"

Rosa glared at her. "It's not like that."

"Oh, of course not," the woman said, adjusting a stray hair. "Someone as kind as you would never _dream_ of sending her only child into battle. What was I thinking?"

"Listen here, you—" Another coughing fit cut her off. When she could breathe again, she said, "…I'm just making preparations. If the FM-ians attack Earth and no one's prepared, everyone could die, including Sonia. I didn't create this situation, I'm just reacting to it."

"Fair enough. But why does it have to be Sonia?"

"Suddenly you care about her?"

"That's not an answer."

Rosa clenched her fists, strangling the sheet in her hands. "…She's the only one who can. The Star Force is our best bet, but with the AM-ians all but gone, the only EM beings we're likely to run into are the FM-ians. Someone is going to have to befriend one of them, convince them to change…and Sonia's someone who can do that."

"Hm. You think so?"

"Stop it. You think I don't know how terrible what I'm doing is? She's my daughter. I don't want her to have to fight—I don't want to put her through the pain she's going to face if she gets involved in all this. But I don't have the luxury of approaching this like a mother. I have to approach it like a scientist. And if that means I have to place this burden on Sonia's shoulders…" She hung her head. "Then I'll do it. It's not like I need to wait long to see how God judges me for it."

The woman watched her for a moment, and then reached out and set a hand on hers. "Welcome to the world of hard choices." When she looked up, Rosa saw the woman smiling at her, looking somewhat relieved.

"…Don't you do what you do because you enjoy it?" Rosa asked.

"I do. But every so often there are some joyless decisions that are tough even for me to make, times when I too have to think objectively and make the call that's most beneficial no matter how terrible it is. Easier for me than it is for you, I'm sure…but, if you'll allow me a little sentiment, it's nice to think we understand each other a little better now."

Rosa smiled.

The woman stood up, straightening her coat. "I'll help her out if I get the chance, though I'm not so sure I will. Again, dangerous people."

Rosa thought for a moment. "If I hadn't asked you to find Kelvin, if you weren't about to take this chance to find him…then, would you have taken care of Sonia after I died?"

Without hesitation, she answered, "No."

"I see." She sighed. "How awful…I'm relieved to hear you say that. At least now I know my selfish request didn't ruin a chance she never actually had."

The woman laughed. "Careful, Rosa: you're starting to sound like me."

"Oh, then it's a very good thing I don't have enough time for that to develop."

The woman stayed where she was for a few moments. Then, she walked up to Rosa, smiled sadly, and set a hand on her head. "I don't exactly have a right to say it…but I really do love you, little sister. The world's going to feel very empty knowing that you're no longer in it."

Rosa smiled back, tears starting to form in her eyes. "I still love you too, sis. Remember that, okay?"

"Heh. Well, I suppose I could try to."

With that, she turned and left the room. Just outside the door, she felt eyes on her, and turned to see Sonia staring right at her. She froze, not knowing what to do for a split-second. But that was all the time it took her to remember what she _had_ to do.

So, she smiled at Sonia, and then she turned her back on her and walked away.

* * *

"Rosa was my younger sister," Heartless said. "I was there that day because I wanted to take my only chance to tell her goodbye."

Sonia's eyes widened. "W…what? But, Mama never mentioned having a sister…"

"She probably didn't talk much about her family at all, did she?"

Sonia didn't answer.

"Yes, I'm sure Rosa felt she'd be taunting you with a family you'd never meet. We went our separate ways long ago—your mother, myself, and our parents. It's a rift we could never agree to mend."

"She told me about that," Sonia said. "She said her family wanted her to give up on something, but she didn't, so they cut ties with her."

"Oh, it was a _long_ time coming," Heartless said. "Our parents liked to call themselves 'old-fashioned'…because they thought that justified their backwards thinking. They were absurdly strict, emotionally distant, always pushing us and never making us feel like what we did was enough. Myself, I simply gave up trying to please them. It was quite freeing to throw myself into the role of 'wild child'. But Rosa…" She sighed. "For Rosa, it wasn't quite that simple. She wanted to please our parents. An impossible task, but she kept at it, no matter how it wore her down over the years. Our differing approaches caused a good bit of friction between the two of us as well, as I'm sure you can imagine."

The information processed slowly in Sonia's mind. She still wasn't entirely sure she could trust this woman's words, but if she was telling the truth, then she couldn't pass up the opportunity. Hesitantly, she asked, "…Then…what was the final straw? What did they want her to give up on?"

Heartless frowned. "…You."

A chill crept up Sonia's spine. "What?"

The woman crossed her arms. "Despite the aforementioned friction, Rosa and I could still get along from time to time. It got easier once we were both adults. However, she still wanted our parents' approval so badly…she really thought she would get it once she established herself as a scientist. But even that wasn't enough for them, and realizing that nearly broke her. With little choice, she ended up turning to me. I wanted to cheer her up, get her to relax a little, so I convinced her to come with me to a party." She smiled. "…She did have fun. It was nice to see that. However, soon after we found out she had a little _too_ much fun that night…and had wound up pregnant."

Sonia blinked.

"Our parents were furious. The man she had been with wanted nothing more to do with her, so they told her the only thing to do was to terminate the pregnancy. It was Rosa's decision of course, but they didn't see it that way. They told her what choice to make…and there she finally drew the line. And our parents told her they never wanted to see her again."

Sonia stared at Heartless silently, waiting for a coherent thought to form.

"I imagine this is a lot to take in," Heartless said. "And of course, you may not even believe me. Aaron Boreal can vouch. So can Hope Stelar—I got to know her and Kelvin through Rosa, lovely people."

Geo stepped closer to Sonia, asking, "Sonia? Are you alright?"

"…Not sure," Sonia said. She gently shook her head, trying her best to clear it. "But we've got other problems…so…Heartless. If you've been planning to dismantle Dealer all along, why did you wait until now to do it?"

Heartless hummed to herself, glancing at Geo. "…I suppose it's fine, as long as he's here."

Geo turned to her, waiting for an explanation.

"I didn't join Dealer to dismantle it. That's just a bonus. The real reason I joined it was because I knew they would bring about this exact moment, when Meteor G is finally within reach."

Sonia tensed. Preparing to Wave Change again, she asked, "And what do you want Meteor G for?"

"It's not the Meteor itself I want. I want the one trapped inside it."

"…What was that?"

"A few years back, Rosa contacted me out of the blue to ask me for help in finding someone. However, when I finally locked onto this person's Transer signal, I discovered he was directly in the path of Meteor G. So in order to fulfill Rosa's request, I knew I had to ensure the Meteor would get close enough that we could properly extract him."

"Mama asked you to find someone? Someone in space? Who…"

She trailed off as she realized. Sonia turned slowly to Geo, who took a shaky step forward.

"Wait…" he murmured. "Do you mean…"

Heartless nodded. "I've checked a few more times to verify. Kelvin is still alive, inside Meteor G."

Geo turned to the monitor, staring at the image of the glowing red star. Mega materialized beside him, saying, "Hang on, really? You're completely sure Kelvin is inside that thing?"

"Yes, completely."

"Well…I did turn him into a wave being, so he would be able to exist inside the server. But…" Mega hesitated.

"But the Noise would corrupt him, wouldn't it?" Geo quietly answered.

"…Well, it's hard to be certain," Heartless said, "but I'm not worried. If the Noise did affect Kelvin, his signal would surely degrade as a result, and I can confirm that it has only grown stronger as Meteor G has grown closer."

Geo faced her. "Then…he's okay?"

"Again, it's hard to be certain. We can only be entirely sure of his status once we've extracted him."

Starting forward, he said, "Okay, well, how do we do that?!"

Heartless glanced briefly at the broken machine in the wall. "Not to worry: I've had plenty of time to plan this out. But for best results, we will need to consult our mutual acquaintances down at AMAKEN. Hope you don't mind, but I will insist we rendezvous before we continue this conversation."

Geo nodded. He headed back the way he had come, but quickly stopped and turned back to Sonia. The girl was still staring at Heartless.

"…Yes?" Heartless asked.

"Sorry," Sonia said. "I guess I still don't know what to think."

"Perfectly understandable."

"I know we don't have time right now. But…when this is over…can we talk more? Please?"

Heartless took a moment before answering. "…Very well. If that's what you want, then I'll oblige. I suppose it is the least I can do."

Sonia turned back around. Geo was still watching her, so she nodded to him, trying to smile. Still, the two of them ended up looking back at Meteor G.

* * *

Boreal stared across the table at Heartless. She sat there silently, looking only the slightest bit impatient.

"So Kelvin is really inside Meteor G?" he asked. "And you have a plan to get him out of it?"

"Yes," Heartless said, "and it even involves saving the Earth. Have I permission to share it, Chief?"

Copper leaned over towards Boreal, whispering, "You're sure we can believe her information?"

"I know her," Boreal replied. "I trust her…at least, I trust her on this."

He nodded to Heartless, so she stood and cleared her throat. "What I have done is quite simple: I have constructed a Noise Wave that will allow a wave body to enter the Meteor Server. By utilizing it, Harp Note will be able to find and extract Kelvin, as well as destroy Meteor G's core, which will cause the meteor itself to disperse before it can impact the Earth's surface."

Sonia lightly tapped her finger against the table. She could see her friends out of the corner of her eye, both Luna and Geo wearing very worried expressions.

"Interesting," Goodall said. "You've found a way to make it through the dense outer layer of Noise? Mind if we ask how?"

"I thought you'd be curious," Heartless said. "Rest assured, I have a report ready that will detail everything I've learned about Noise while working at Dealer, which I'll be turning over to WAZA free of charge."

"That's very generous," Vega said. "However, when you say 'disperse'…does that not mean the Noise will still remain in the upper atmosphere of the planet? Might some of it still fall and affect the Earth?"

"You are correct, but I've handled that as well. The orbital base King used possesses Noise-resistant shielding—if I position it between the Earth and Meteor G, then when the core is destroyed, it will hold back the brunt of the Noise long enough for me to download all of it elsewhere."

"Elsewhere? The Meteor Server is enormous! Where else could you download that much Noise?"

"I found just the thing lying around. I'm not sure if you're aware, but there happen to be three powerful satellites orbiting our planet, which have been lying empty for some time now."

Boreal looked up. "The satellite network? From when we used Transers? I suppose it would be just about the right size, but they're not…well, you've probably seen to that to, haven't you?"

Heartless smirked. "If you were about to say they're not capable of dealing with Noise, then yes, I've modified them myself with Dealer technology to ensure they will be able to function as a new Noise Server. As I may've mentioned, I've had plenty of time to formulate this plan."

"Alright. So, all we need to do is get Sonia to this Noise Wave."

Sonia nodded. "Okay. How can I get to it?"

Heartless's smirk fell away, and she glanced to the side. "Yes, well…we have hit one tiny snag. Queen Tia destroyed the orbital base's mechanism for controlling Noise. With that, I could've simply opened an entrance from anywhere, but as it stands…"

Boreal sighed. "This sounds like more than a 'tiny snag'."

"But," Vega said, "we need only repair the mechanism, isn't that right? We must begin immediately!"

"I do appreciate your enthusiasm," Heartless said. "However, even if we begin now, I can't say for certain if we would have enough time to get the mechanism working properly; much less enough for Harp Note to traverse the wave, deal with Jack and Queen Tia, and then destroy the core. I'm prepared to do what I can, but I thought perhaps we should look into alternatives."

Before the discussion could continue, a strange sensation filled the air. The various technologies around the room all went to static, and the lights began to flicker; Sonia got to her feet, cautiously glancing around the room. Suddenly, the entrance to a Noise Wave popped into existence on one side of the room. She immediately Wave Changed as everyone scrambled away from the portal.

"Ho ho…" echoed a voice from within the wave. "Yes, come join me. The Noise is marvelous!"

Geo Wave Changed as well, saying, "That sounds like…"

He didn't have to wait long for confirmation. King emerged from the Noise Wave, hands folded on his desk, and gave a toothy grin to the crowd waiting for him. Sonia and Geo quickly put themselves between him and the others.

"That…isn't possible," Heartless said.

"Come now, dear Heartless," King said. "Did you really think this would be enough to kill me? You've underestimated me. I'm hurt."

"A human can't survive for long in an environment as harsh as a Noise Wave. You should…" Her eyes widened.

"Think it through, my dear. It's true that a human cannot survive in a Noise Wave…so, I ceased being human." King rapped his knuckles against his desk. "I've long been prepared for the possibility of shedding my humanity. So I built a special Z Wave generator into my chair: when my physical well-being was at stake, it activated, and turned me into an EM being. And, I just so happened to have a spare Noise Blocker on hand as well, rendering me immune to any potential side effects my surroundings may've caused. Your trap has failed, Heartless."

Copper raised his Hunter, preparing to Wave Change. When he saw the screen, however, he realized Plesio was spasming. "Plesio? What's wrong?!"

"Noise…" Plesio murmured, sounding like it pained him just to speak. "Too much Noise…"

"Oh, you don't say?" King said. "This wave does lead to Meter G—I suppose its intense Noise is too much for your primitive Filters! Ho ho ho ho!"

Sonia and Geo exchanged a brief look.

"But on to more pressing issues…I have a traitor to dispose of!"

Heartless stepped back. Aiming her guitar, Sonia said, "I won't let you!"

Geo got in front of Heartless, shield ready, while Sonia sent a note at King. His chair moved quickly to the side, and the lights decorating its front shone. Beams shot out from them, but just as they did, Laplace cut the side of the chair, tilting it so that the attack only hit the wall. Solo appeared a second later. He drew back his fist to attack, but paused: for just a moment, the flames that cloaked it wavered oddly, and that was enough for him to take a more cautious approach.

"Hmph," King scoffed. "Very well. I'd hoped to personalize your doom, but you will perish just the same when Meteor G strikes."

King moved back into the Noise Wave. Sonia wondered if she should charge him, but the lights on the chair continued to shine, warning her to stay back.

"But please, if you think you can stop it, do your worst! I'll leave your Noise Wave intact, dear Heartless—if you can still find a way to get Harp Note to it, then I'll gladly destroy her with my own hands!"

"King!" Sonia shouted. "No matter what, I'm going to stop Meteor G! Make it easy on yourself and surrender now!"

"Ho ho, is that how you see it? I look forward to seeing you join us at the table, Harp Note. You'll make this final game so much more interesting!"

The wave closed, and King was gone. As the room returned to normal, Sonia checked her guitar screen: she wondered if maybe she could still access the Noise Wave, but she discovered that was not the case. She undid her Wave Change and made sure everyone was alright, ultimately turning to Vega.

"I can't get in," she said. "Can you think of any other way I could get to the Noise Wave?"

Vega averted her gaze as she thought. "You need to get close in order to access it with the Joker Program. If the Noise Wave is connected to Meter G, it would need to stay close, which means it's still rather far from us—except for when King moves it, I suppose."

"He said he would leave it, right?"

"He did. Now we just need to figure our part out…I suppose we could wait for the Meteor to come close enough that it could be accessed through the Astro Wave, but by that point we'd have almost no time left. So we need to find some way to get Sonia even closer to Meteor G…"

"The problem is that all the Noise it's putting out will corrupt any craft we could send that way," Goodall said. "Although, you did say that orbital base was Noise resistant. Would you be able to take it closer and get Sonia in from there?"

"I thought of that, but I'm not sure it's the best course of action," Heartless said as she sat back down. "At that proximity to a fully intact Meteor G, I'm not certain the shields would hold out, and if they were compromised, it may prevent me from being able to properly execute the server transfer."

"Leaving all that Noise out in the open," Goodall said. "And I don't suppose we have time to build our own Noise-resistant craft…"

"U-Um…"

They turned to Zack, who had been sitting quietly in the corner until this point. Nervously adjusting his glasses, he continued, "Y-You know, since the incident where Magnes was Noised, I've been making repairs to the Science Club's rocket, and, um…I-I noticed that it's actually become quite resistant to Noise now. Probably as a result of being exposed to so much, I would guess, but, well, I've tested it a little, and it seems to be…a significant resistance. I-I don't know how it compares to this base, but…well…"

Goodall's face brightened. "Oh! That could be exactly what we need! Sonia can pulse into the rocket, ride it into orbit, and then access the Noise Wave from there!"

"We should bring it up for some testing just to be safe," Vega said, "but this sounds very promising! Let's begin right away!"

Zack's nervousness quickly faded, replaced by a grin. Rushing forward, he said, "Y-Yes, absolutely! I'll get it right now!"

He and the doctors left the room. Turning to Sonia, Boreal said, "Are you sure about going to the server? With that intense Noise, it looks like you may be on your own. The Joker Program should be fine, even if our Noise Filters can't handle it, but…"

Sonia looked at her guitar screen. "Lyra?"

The FM-ian nodded. "I'm with you. It may be risky, but our inaction would lead to Earth's destruction, and I've grown rather attached to this ball of rock."

"Heh, thanks. Let's go save the world again!"

"Will we be done after this? They say the third time's the charm, so I can hope…"

Geo stepped forward then, saying, "Sonia…"

She smiled at him. "You're coming too, right? We could use some help if Jack and Tia are waiting for us. And…I'm sure you're eager to see your father again."

After a short delay, Geo smiled back. "…Thanks, Sonia. It means a lot to me."

"Alright," Mega cheered, "this time we get to knock heads all the way up to the end! I'm raring to go!"

"So," Sonia said, "it'll be you, me, and…"

She turned to Solo just as he reverted to normal. He paused a moment, and then turned to properly face her.

"Solo…you're the only other one who can help us. I know this doesn't really have anything to do with you, but please…can you come with us?"

Solo glanced around the room. Then, he turned towards the door, and jerked his head that way. Sonia followed him out into the hall.

"Please," Sonia said, "we—"

"I'll do it," Solo said.

Sonia blinked. "…You will? Really?!"

"Calm down."

"S-Sorry. I just…" She smiled. "Thank you, Solo. Thank you."

Solo nodded. He looked like he still had something to say, so Sonia waited.

"At Dealer's base," he finally said, so quiet Sonia could barely hear him. "When Joker was attacking me, and you stepped in…you said that I belonged there. That's…the first time in a long while…anyone has stood up for me like that."

Sonia wasn't sure if that warmed her heart or broke it.

"I appreciate it. Truly. So I'll help you…as a favor. I'll help you protect what's precious to you."

He walked off in a hurry before Sonia had a chance to reply. She chuckled a little, and then walked back into the room, finding Luna there waiting for her. Seeing her expression, she suddenly became aware of her nerves.

"Luna…"

Luna walked over, taking hold of her hands when she was close enough. They stood silently with their fingers entwined for a moment, and then Luna squeezed Sonia's hands and looked her in the eye.

"I know," Luna said. "At least this time you'll have Geo with you—that makes this a lot easier. I know he'll watch your back…but, I still want you to promise me something."

"I'll come back," Sonia said. "I promise."

"Not just that."

"Huh? What else?"

"When you do get back…I want you to promise that you'll take me on a date."

"…A date?"

"A proper date!" Luna said, leaning forward with a very serious expression. "I expect something very nice, with not a hint of danger in sight! I'd say we've both earned it, don't you?"

Giggling, Sonia said, "Yeah. You're absolutely right! I promise we'll have a spectacular date when I get back, Luna!"

She gave Luna a kiss, and then hugged her tightly. As she did, Sonia saw Heartless on the other side of the room, casually typing something into her Hunter. Her mind was still a whirl, but she wasn't going to let that stop her from doing what needed to be done. With Luna in her arms, she finally caught a glimpse of clarity, and she used that moment to fully prepare herself for everything that lay ahead.

 _I can do this. I'll save everyone on Earth, save Geo's father, and come home to Luna and all my friends. And then…maybe I'll have a chance to figure out exactly how I feel._

* * *

Notes:

-A lot's been going on in my personal life—I've been in the process of moving, my sister just got married, and I'm between jobs at the moment—so this took longer to complete than I would've liked. We're mostly settled, I just need to help unpack and rearrange some things and, you know, find a new job, but I'll try to get some writing done in my downtime. I really don't want to stretch out this final bit if I don't have to.

-One of the big things for Star Force 3 was Geo finally being reunited with his father. I didn't want to remove that, but since we're not a Geo-centric story this time, I thought it might be a good idea to have Sonia also reconnect with her family in some way. The problem there is that I can't exactly bring her mother back. Of course, with this story being as crowded as it is I didn't want to add in ANOTHER new character, so I decided to look at who I already had to work with. Heartless's backstory was largely blank, and she does end up joining with our heroes, so she seemed a viable option—and giving more thought to what kind of person would do the things she does, it all came together to create a character interpretation I really, really liked. Someone who has a different sense of morality, who just loves screwing with people but is able to recognize who "the bad guys" are and only screws with them so she can get away with it. She does still form bonds and care about people, but she's largely selfish, and it's precisely because of that disconnect she's so good at what she does and is able to facilitate positive moments like getting Kelvin back. She's good at being bad for the sake of good but is doing it for bad reasons…mostly. I only wish we had more time with her.

-In canon, I guess the Meteor Server just entirely ceased to exist when the core was destroyed, but I want it to stick around for a little bit. And this way the satellite network gets to come back into play, which just feels kinda right.

-I think this is the best place to split up our last minute events. We'll wrap things up next time and send our trio to the Meteor Server, where Jack and Tia are waiting for them, and I think that'll be fun.


	36. Chapter 36

"Magnes!"

The Wizard looked up as Zack came running into the room. "Oh, hey Zack. Good to see you."

"There you are," the boy said as he caught his breath. "I've been looking all over for you. There's a massive opportunity I need to talk with you about!"

Magnes turned away, grunting quietly. "I'm…not really interested."

"What? You haven't even heard what it is yet!"

The Wizard didn't give much of a response. Zack sighed, walking around so he could look him in the eye.

"Magnes…you need to quit moping around like this! When I heard how you helped Detective Copper deal with the spy, I thought maybe you were finally ready to make a change."

"I was scared, and I was trying to survive. I didn't want to let him down—"

"And didn't it feel good to help out?"

"…Yup, I guess. But, I really didn't do much."

Zack shook his head. "Magnes, why are you so resistant to trying something new? I know you loved working with the Science Club, but dwelling on what you've lost isn't going to help anyone, least of all you!"

Magnes hung his head, saying, "Zack, I just…I feel so useless. I thought I had a purpose, but I failed to carry it out, and now the only things I can do feel like something _anyone_ could do. I'm unnecessary, and that…"

"…It hurts more than you can say, right?" Zack reached out and set a hand on Magnes's arm. "Magnes, I felt the same way. After the FM-ians came and all my friends became heroes, I felt like I had lost everything, like I had failed to be useful to them and would never find another place I really belonged. But if I had given into that feeling, I never would have realized how much I love rocket science!"

"You really felt like that?"

"Yes, so I know this is hard on you. I've been trying to give you the time you need, but we're all running out of time, and I need your help!"

Magnes spent a long few seconds considering this. "…If you need my help…then I'll do what I can."

Zack smiled. "Thank you."

Magnes rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm sorry, Zack. It's not that I want to give up, it's just hard to move on without any sense of closure."

His smile widening, Zack said, "I think this'll give us both the closure we need."

* * *

From the roof of AMAKEN, Sonia could see Meteor G shining brightly in the night sky, her eyes so fixed on the deadly beacon that she didn't hear Boreal approach. When she finally noticed him, she spared him a glance before looking down at the facility's grounds.

"You ever miss this place?" she asked.

"I miss it," Boreal said, "but that doesn't mean I regret returning to WAZA. Despite the circumstances, there's something nice about being able to work for both over the past few days."

Sonia slid on her Visualizer. The Wave Roads glowed softly, providing some distraction from the red light up above. "This is where we were given the Star Force. Man, that seems like such a long time ago now…so many things have happened, things I still can hardly believe."

Boreal leaned against the railing.

"…So, you knew she was looking for Geo's dad this whole time?"

"Yeah. Listen, Sonia…I wanted to tell you about your aunt. You deserve to know. But, it just wasn't my place to say it, and…"

"It's okay, I understand." She removed the Visualizer. "To be honest, she isn't really what I expected. Not that I've ever given much thought to what a hypothetical long-lost aunt might be like, but…I guess it surprises me just how different she is from Mama. It's hard to really put into words, but I feel like I'm judging her a bit too quickly."

"Well, she does certainly leave a clear impression. Always has."

Sonia's gaze turned back to Meteor G. "Whatever the case, I'm glad I got to meet her. I have a lot of questions for her once we get back…"

The sky continued to darken.

"…We really failed Jack and Tia," Sonia murmured.

"We did what we had to do. I still stand by that."

"I know, but I disagree."

Boreal nodded.

"I made the same decision, though. And I didn't make any effort to help Tia when I had the chance. What I mean is, I'll take my fair share of the blame, and I won't hold a grudge or anything. But this time, when I meet them up there, I'm going to do this right. I want to understand what they're doing…or at least try to. At the very least. I owe it to them."

Boreal looked up as well, adjusting his hat. "I hope you're able to help them. Kelvin, too."

"Oh, that'll be the easy part," Sonia said. "We'll have him back on Earth in no time, and you can show off all the hard work you've done and status you've earned while he's been off relaxing in space."

"Haha, yeah? Maybe he'll also let me pick his brain about what he saw out there. He might have the key to our next technological leap for all we know!"

Sonia started to laugh, but it quickly turned into a yawn.

"You should get some rest."

"I want to be ready as soon as the rocket's done."

"Estimates say it won't be done until the morning anyway, and more importantly, you're going to need to be at your best to deal with what's waiting for you up there."

"Maybe, but…"

"I'll call Luna if I have to."

Sonia slumped. "Ugh…alright, I'll go. Some sleep does sound nice."

She turned and headed for the door, stopping just as she grabbed the handle.

"…Mr. Boreal?"

"Hm?"

"Thank you."

"Hey now, we're the ones who should be thanking you."

"No, I mean it. Thanks."

Sonia headed inside, leaving Boreal to stare up at Meteor G on his own. After some length of time, he too tore himself away from the ominous light, muttering, "You made the right call, Rosa. I just wish you were here to see it."

* * *

The rocket had been set up in the parking lot just outside AMAKEN, surrounded by a small crowd of people. An exhausted trio made up of Zack, Vega, and Goodall hurriedly ran last-minute checks as Sonia made her way towards the craft.

"We're just about set," Goodall said. "Give us one more minute to be sure everything's optimized."

Sonia looked over the rocket, then up into the sky where Meteor G still hung poised to strike. _I never quite feel ready for this kind of battle._

She turned around, spotting Geo in the crowd. He was holding Pat tight, the other boy saying, "Please, _please_ be careful. If anything happened to you…"

"I'll be fine, I promise," Geo said. "We'll take care of everything and be back before you know it!"

They parted, but Pat still hung onto Geo's hands. Luna came up beside him and said, "No need to fret, Pat: I've been through this same thing before, so you'll have my expertise to lean on."

Geo chuckled. "Thanks, Prez. Please take good care of him while I'm gone!"

Pat managed a small grin. "Okay…I love you."

"And I love you," Geo said, giving Pat a kiss. With a final nod, he turned and headed for the rocket.

"Geo!"

Spinning around, he saw Rey looking at him.

"…You'd better keep your promise, alright?"

Giving a smile, he said, "Alright. You can count on me, Rey."

Rey grunted, saying nothing more. As Geo continued to approach, Sonia giggled, thinking, _But…it really is nice to know that this time it isn't just me and Lyra._

"How'd you sleep?" Geo asked. "I couldn't stop thinking about today."

"It was a longer night than I would've liked," Sonia said. "But, any rest is something. We'll power through it."

"Definitely."

Sonia scanned the crowd until she spotted Solo. "How about you, Solo? You ready for this?"

"Hmph," he scoffed. "Of course I am."

She waved for him to join them. Hesitantly, Solo walked over.

"Solo, Geo, Mega, Laplace, Lyra," Sonia said. "I just want to thank all of you. I don't know if I'd be able to do this without your help. But with all of us working together, I'm positive we'll come out on top!"

Geo nodded, while Solo just silently stared off at nothing. Bud, Claude, and Luna approached; Claude said, "I really wish I could go with you, Sonia. It'd be so cool to fight alongside you in the final battle!"

"Well, it's out of the question," Cancer said, "so I guess we'll just have to stay down here where it's safe!"

"I know you'll be with me in spirit, Claude," Sonia said. "Brothers can count on each other no matter the distance!"

"Yeah!" Claude said. "We'll keep cheering you on until we see Meteor G go out!"

Bud stepped forward next. "I'm gonna be cheering for you too! Next time, though, I'm gonna be strong enough to come with you guys!"

"Let's hope there isn't a next time," Sonia said, "but I'll remember that if there is."

Bud wrapped one arm around Sonia and the other around Geo, giving them both a tight hug. After releasing them, he turned to Solo, offering his hand and saying, "I'm trusting you to watch their backs, Solo. I know you're up to the task!"

Solo stared at his hand at first, before slowly reaching out to shake it. It was now that Luna stepped up to Sonia—she was smiling, but it wasn't enough to entirely hide her anxiety.

"Remember," she said, "you've got promises to keep. You know better than to break a promise to a Br…no, to your girlfriend, don't you?"

"I absolutely do," Sonia said. She pulled Luna in for a long kiss, ending only to say, "I won't be long. Love you."

"Love you too," Luna said, already blushing.

"Lyra," Ophiuca said. "…See to it that Virgo pays."

Lyra chuckled. "You can count on me, dear."

Goodall waved her Hunter then, shouting, "Alright, ready to go!"

As their friends backed away, Sonia, Geo, and Solo turned to face the rocket. Vega told them, "One final review. The three of you will pulse into the rocket, and it will fly as close to Meteor G as it possibly can—with the Noise resistance it possesses, we have calculated that it will put you well within range of the artificial Noise Wave. You will need to access it with your Noise Control Programs, and then make your way into the Meteor Server. We know that Jack, Queen Tia, and King are waiting there to impede you, so be on your guard. Locate and extract Kelvin Stelar, and then destroy the Meteor's core. Heartless is ready on the orbital base to shield the Earth and download the server into the satellite network. She has assured us the Noise Wave will hold together long enough for you to escape back to the rocket, which will then return you to Earth. Any questions?"

There were none. Zack approached next, saying, "We've pushed this rocket to its absolute limit. Unfortunately, that's about all we can do to help you."

"It'll be enough," Sonia said. "Thank you, Zack."

Zack nodded. He hesitated a moment, and then said, "W-Well…there is one more way I might be able to help. I mean, you can say no, but…if you want…I can lend you whatever power I have, too."

Sonia smiled. Calling up a screen, she said, "Zack, I'd be thrilled to form a Brother Band with you."

Zack let out a big sigh. "Oh, good. Great! Um, just let me…"

They quickly input the data into their terminals, and then Zack scurried off to where his other friends waited. Sonia, Geo, and Solo Wave Changed, and one by one they entered the rocket—Solo going first without a word. Geo waved as he departed, and Sonia did the same, then turned to Boreal. He gave her a thumbs-up. She nodded, and then pulsed in. The rocket's Cyber Core looked just the same as she remembered it, and at the console up ahead floated Magnes.

"Nice to see you again, Magnes," Sonia said. "Glad Zack was able to convince you to help us out."

Magnes nodded once. "Yup! No one knows this rocket like I do: if this is how we're going to save the Earth, then I'm willing to do my part!"

"Great!"

More quietly, he added, "And…once I get a short look at space, then I think I can move forward with no regrets!"

Boreal's voice came from the console, saying, "Magnes, do you copy?"

"Yup! Loud and clear, Chief!"

"Good. We should be able to maintain communications, but nothing's guaranteed once you get in range of Meteor G. You're clear for liftoff as soon as you're ready!"

Magnes glanced back at his passengers, who had no protests. He then placed both hands on the console and said, "Alright! Commencing liftoff!"

Magnes's hands lit up. The Cyber Core shuddered, and a loud roar filled the air. A screen appeared before the Wizard, showing AMAKEN slowly falling away as the rocket began to rise.

"Yup!"

The rocket gradually accelerated. Clouds rushed past the screen, yet the Cyber Core grew more stable, until Sonia could barely tell they were moving. Soon the sky gave way to stars: the rocket broke through the atmosphere and into space, shooting straight past the roads of the Astro Wave. Magnes grinned as he stared at the display in awe.

"I made it," he muttered. "I really made it…"

Meteor G could be seen up ahead. As it rapidly grew larger, Sonia turned to Geo and Solo, and said, "Hey. When we find them, I want to try talking with Jack and Tia first. I know they probably won't listen, so we'll need to stay on our guard, but I'm still going to do everything I can to help them."

"Of course," Geo said. "I want to save them too. I'm sure we can find a way to bring them back with us."

"Fine," Solo said. "However…what about King?"

Sonia took a moment to think before answering. "I'm not as optimistic about him. I'll do everything I can, but…"

Solo nodded. "Understood."

Another tremor rocked the core. Magnes said, "We're gonna start experiencing bursts of Noise! It'll be bumpy, but the rocket is holding together just fine!"

In the corner of the screen, Sonia caught a brief glimpse of the orbital base. Her eyes lingered on that point long after it disappeared, but eventually, she set her sights on Meteor G once more. The tremors steadily grew more frequent.

"Noise readings approaching established threshold," Magnes said. "I'm slowing down!"

"Sonia, Geo, you should be in range," Boreal said, his voice muffled by static. "See if you can open the Noise Wave from there!"

Sonia closed her eyes. Focusing on the Joker Program, she was able to sense all the Noise around them, feeling it fall away as the rocket cut through it—the presence of Meteor G instantly drew her attention. But there was something else closer to it, a quieter Noise that held together in a way unlike the surrounding clusters. Sonia honed in on that signal, and seconds later, a large gash of Noise tore through the empty space next to her.

"Got it!" Sonia said. "Magnes, try to maintain this distance as best you can!"

"Yup!" Magnes said. "Leave this place to me—you go take care of that meteor!"

Sonia, Geo, and Solo jumped through the portal, finding themselves in a corridor-like Noise Wave that reached into the distance.

"I've never seen one so…intact," Geo said as he observed the Wave Road. "I guess this is what happens when someone artificially constructs a Noise Wave."

They hurried down the length of the platform, stopping only when they reached the far end to discover no visible exit. Sonia worked to find one, but before she could, Solo stepped forward, Laplace in hand, and slashed through empty space, cutting a portal into existence before them. He stepped through it on his own.

"Well, guess that works," Mega said.

Sonia and Geo followed, emerging at last inside the Meteor Server. The lighting held a subtle red tint from the dense shell of Noise that formed the boundaries of the area, and the purplish Wave Road was surprisingly spacious, if a bit erratic in the way it stretched out in many directions. Up ahead, the road slanted sharply upward; with no other clues to go on, the trio advanced towards the incline. Sonia could feel a strange sense of unease building with every step, but she paid it no mind.

"So this is where we've been downloading Noise Changes from," Lyra mused. "Shame we don't have the time to look around—perusing the files like this is so much simpler."

"We'll take a more thorough look once the data gets transferred to the satellites," Sonia said. "Right now all we need to focus on is—"

She jumped back as a bolt of purple flame landed on the road in front of her. Looking up, she saw Jack swooping down towards her, talons still alight with fire. Sonia quickly raised her guitar to block the hit, and Geo stunned Jack with a Plasma Gun before he could continue his attack; Solo drew a glyph he then pressed his palm against, and a powerful repulsive force hurled Jack across the platform. The three of them took up defensive stances as he recovered.

"Jack!" Sonia said. "We don't have to—"

"Yes we do!" Jack said, beating his wings. "It's too late now, so just shut up and fight!"

Tia descended the slope, coming to Jack's side. "Meteor G cannot be stopped. Your journey here is foolish…if entirely anticipated."

"Kyahahahaha, you really showed up!" Virgo laughed. "Goody, now I get to kill you myself! Let's start already!"

"Wait, please!" Sonia said. "Look…Jack, Tia. I want to apologize to the two of you."

Tia turned towards her. "…What?"

"I had the chance to help you, and I didn't. I'm sorry for that. But if you'll let me, I want to help you now!"

"How the hell are you supposed to help us?" Jack asked. "Earth is doomed! It's too late to turn back."

"No, it's not!" Sonia said. "We're here because we have a way to stop Meteor G. You can come back with us, and I promise, we'll give you some proper help in whatever you want to do next."

Jack went oddly silent, but Tia said, "This _is_ what we want. We want Meteor G to wipe out all technology on the planet, and we will see that wish carried out."

"Even if it costs the lives of billions of people?"

Tia's grip on her staff tightened. "Our resolve will not be shaken, no matter the cost. Technology has corrupted the world, just as the Noise it pollutes the planet with corrupts it. People fight over it, murder for it, use it to rain devastation wherever they please…Earth was beyond saving even before Meteor G made itself known. The only way to restore it to any semblance of functionality is to initiate a hard reset."

Sonia stared at them. "…Why do you think that? What happened that made you hate technology so much?"

"We lost everything because of technology," Jack said.

"Jack," Tia said, "you don't have to tell them anything."

"Please, help me understand!" Sonia said.

"You cannot understand. Leave now or be deleted!"

Sonia focused squarely on Jack. The boy soon averted his gaze, slowly descending until he stood on the Wave Road. He murmured, "They destroyed everything we ever knew…all because of our technology."

Tia turned, about to say something. Upon seeing the look on Jack's face, she held her tongue.

"I was really young…I don't remember all the details. But we lived in a small country that was making big leaps in EM technology, with our parents leading the way. They made all kinds of stuff, like our pendants, and word started to spread that our research was going to be revolutionary. Someone who heard that didn't like it. So they invaded."

He clenched his fists; his talons dug into his palms, but that didn't stop him.

"Everything was destroyed…they killed everyone they could. Sis managed to get us out, but with nowhere to turn, we just wandered around, doing our best to survive. And then King found us. I remember more about those days: having to do all the stupid things he asked, watching all the other kids he recruited die left and right, all to steal whatever tech the bastard needed. Sis realized that if we could take control of Meteor G, we could use it to take revenge on the world and the technology that ruined our lives. That's the wish we've been working towards all this time."

Sonia's eyes were wide, a hand clamped over her mouth. Eventually, she quietly offered, "I can't imagine how hard that must have been…I'm so sorry."

Jack stretched out his wings, preparing to take flight again. "Well, whatever. It's finally all about to come to an end. Just a little longer, and Earth will be rid of all that damn technology!"

Solo shook his head. "Fools."

"What was that?!"

"It wasn't technology that ruined your life. It was humans. Ridding the world of technology won't fix what's wrong with humans."

"Oh, what do you know?"

Solo didn't answer. Geo stepped forward and said, "Jack, Ms. Tia, even if you destroy all of our current technology, the survivors would still find a way to invent new technology for the new world. What you're talking about is impossible: people will _always_ have the urge to create, the desire to understand that fuels scientific advancement! Even if you set the planet back, that climb for greater knowledge will always continue!"

Tia narrowed her eyes at him. "Not if we have anything to say about it."

Geo blinked. "…What? Are you saying you'll police the world that remains, stop anyone from inventing anything at all?"

"Precisely. Technology must stop."

"That's absurd! How are you going to realistically achieve that? And even if you could, you won't live forever—what happens after you're gone, and no one else is around to suppress science?"

"We'll come up with something! But one way or another, technology dies today!"

Pointing, Geo said, "Even your pendants?"

Tia stayed silent.

"They're EM technology. But they mean an awful lot to you, don't they?"

Before either Jack or Tia could say anything, Sonia came forward. "You made this plan a long time ago, didn't you? When you were still kids, scared and hurt and just trying to find something to hope for. And you've clung to this idea so tightly that you haven't tried to reexamine it at all, because even the slightest upset could mean losing that single lifeline." She paused. "Please, take another look at what you're doing. This isn't going to fix things the way you say it will! You're just going to repeat the same mistakes that put you in this position, hurting and killing people because of their technology—that won't heal you, not even a little!"

It was subtle, almost unnoticeable, but Jack's face began to turn white. "…Repeating…the same mistake?"

"Silence, Harp Note!" Tia said.

"More children will lose their families, their entire world! They'll be hurt and alone, and people might even take advantage of them! Do you really want to put other kids through the same pain those experiences caused you?"

Jack took a step back. Tia slammed her staff against the Wave Road, shouting, "Enough!"

Water rose in high walls around her, a portion of it breaking off and twisting into the shape of a dragon. Her targets dodged; Solo prepared to draw a glyph, but seeing that Geo and Sonia still wouldn't take an aggressive posture, he lowered his hand.

"No more discussion!" Tia said. "Jack, it's time to defend our wish. Help me take our revenge!"

Jack hesitated. Corvus said, "Get on with it, kid! It's because of these twerps you and your sister got thrown in jail, right? You still need to make 'em pay for that!"

Jack looked at Sonia. She said, "Please, Jack. Think about what you're doing."

After a moment, he gritted his teeth. Lifting into the air, he said, "Hmph…it doesn't matter anyway."

* * *

Notes:

-Originally I wanted to reach the end of this fight in this chapter, but that draft ended up being over 9000 words long. This seemed like the best place to split things up semi-evenly. I'll have 37 out very soon, and barring anything going off the rails, we'll end up with a total of 39 chapters and a word count that exceeds the combined total of the first two stories. Yikes. (Though now I feel better about taking two years to finish it.)

-The real advantage to having Zack take up Woody's role is that Zack actually gets to contribute to the endgame. I've struggled to find a good way to implement him over the series, but I feel like this is a good endpoint for him, helping out in the main plot but doing it in his own way, and finally forming that Brother Band with Sonia.

-It was here I finally realized the "desire to understand" applies to Sonia's ideals as well as science itself, and I'm kicking myself for not using that sooner to more closely tie the series' themes into its sci-fi setting. Ah well, this is the curse of serialization I suppose…


	37. Chapter 37

Geo and Sonia Noise Changed, triggering short bursts of light in the distance of the server. Geo engaged Cancer Crown Noise, while Sonia activated Libra Crown, her dress turning into thick green armor with gold streaks on the sides. Her greaves became massive gold boots shaped like the body of Libra Scales, her shoulders were encased in bulbous green ornaments, her scarf turned green, and the nodes on her orange helmet sharpened into golden spikes. Her arms remained unarmored, changing to green and gold; her guitar was a ghastly shade of white, with the body shaped to resemble a cartoonish skull. As Jack hovered right above Tia, Sonia readied her guitar.

"Please, listen!" Sonia said.

Flames engulfed Jack's hands. "Sis said shut up!"

A flurry of fire bolts shot out at random, blanketing the platform to make approaching the pair as difficult as possible. Laplace dematerialized to insure Solo's barrier protected him, while Geo stepped in front of Sonia with his shield, both looking at her as they held the line.

"Alright…I think our best bet is to surround them," Sonia said, playing a few notes. "I'll draw their attention as best I can!"

Three orb-shaped spirits appeared at her side: one made of fire, one made of water, and one made of electricity, each wielding a different weapon. Geo and Solo broke formation, the latter calmly closing in on the siblings as he circled to one side. Jack continued to firebomb the area, while Tia tilted her staff forward—a burst of rain fell down on Solo, but it too was repelled, and he calmly walked closer. As Sonia dodged fire, she played to issue commands to her minions, the flame spirit launching arrows from its crossbow as they advanced. The shots all disappeared into Tia's shield, each prompting a small burst of water to shoot out on contact; however, the numerous jets managed to obscure Tia's view of the battlefield, and she lost track of Solo.

"Sis, on your left!" Jack said.

Tia turned to see Solo leaping up over her barrier, brushing off fire bolts to kick Jack in the face. She raised her staff, but before she could attack, Geo appeared behind her with a Break Sabre, slashing right through her shield and using Crown Noise's ability to render her blind. Jack swung at Solo, but he dropped down inside Tia's shield. Geo leapt up at Jack, connecting with a Freeze Knuckle, and then smacked him down with a Great Axe while Solo hit Tia with a string of blows. Sonia's spirits had reached their foes: the one made of water swung its hammer down, the shockwaves from the impact dispelling Tia's water veil so that Sonia could blast her with notes.

"Take that!" Lyra said. "I'll put you in your place yet, Virgo!"

Sonia felt like she should say something, but the thought was gone in an instant. She realized she was feeling frustrated for some reason.

"Hey, this isn't the way this is supposed to go!" Virgo said. "Get your butt in gear, Tia! We can't let them win again!"

Tia managed to block one of Solo's punches with her staff. Pushing back, she called up another swirl of water to sweep him and the spirits back, finishing by sending a water dragon after Sonia. She did her best to look calm as she scanned her surroundings, but they could all see the glint of anger lighting her eyes.

Nearby, Jack go to this feet, calling, "Hold on Sis!"

He lunged at Geo with his talons—the boy raised his shield, but right before he hit it, Jack pulled his arms back and turned one wing into a sharp blade, curving it around the shield to stab Geo in the shoulder. Geo flinched as he dropped his guard, and Jack pushed him back with a short barrage of fire bolts. He hung back as Geo recovered, watching carefully to see what he would do, but to his surprise, Geo turned around and loaded a Battle Card; a few dozen coins appeared above Tia and fell down on her head. Jack charged, but he was so focused on Geo he didn't see Solo until the Murian warrior was already in front of him. Solo sent him reeling, the flames of his fist flaring up as he made contact, and then stopped and grabbed his wrist for a moment before pressing his advantage.

Tia busied herself repelling attacks from Geo and Sonia, attempting counterattacks whenever she thought she could. The stalemate dragged on, and with a harsh sigh, Sonia said, "Tia, you've got to see reason! You can't seriously believe this is going to work!"

Tia simply attacked her. Sonia grunted as she dodged, but as she angrily raised her guitar, she paused. _Wait…why am I so on edge?_

Geo avoided another attack and jumped in front of Tia, driving a Drill Arm through her barrier. He exchanged glances with Sonia, and she realized he too looked unusually angry. Before she had time to piece things together, Tia spun her staff over her head before slamming it back down, conjuring three water dragons beneath her: one chased after Sonia, the other pursued Geo, and the third spiraled upward with Tia on its head, silently observing her foes. Suddenly, a barrage of fist-shaped projectiles came her way—she directed the dragon through the onslaught, glaring down at Solo.

A shout caught Geo's attention as he narrowly dodged the dragon. Turning, he was greeted by Jack colliding with him head-on, feeling the boy cut into his arm before giving him a chance to roll to his feet. A shadow appeared over Jack, so he dodged back. A large speaker resembling one of Libra's weights dropped onto the road and caught him in a sound pulse; seizing the opportunity, Geo vaulted over the device and brought a massive hammer down on Jack. He then lifted the weapon and brought it down again, then a third time, and then finally formed a cannon he aimed at his stunned opponent.

"Damn, kid," Mega said. "You're really going to town on him."

Geo stopped. Looking at Jack, he muttered, "I…uh…"

He backed up, letting Jack stand. Sonia had the head of her guitar pointed in their direction.

"Get him!" Lyra said. "If we can take him out, we'll have an easier time dismantling Virgo!"

Sonia slid her foot forward, then stopped. "…Lyra…do you feel that?"

"Feel what?"

"It's the same as before. When Joker was overloading us with Noise…and when the OOParts tried to take control of us…"

Lyra huffed. "…Drat. I believe you're right. We were told that being inside a super-dense Noise environment would pose a serious risk of corruption."

Geo stared at Jack for a moment. Then, Jack said, "You're gonna regret that!"

He punched Geo in the face, flames wreathing the blow. As Geo was knocked back, Solo charged Jack from behind, but Jack spun in mid-air to avoid him and retaliate. Solo quickly drew a glyph as Jack's wing connected, disappearing in a puff of smoke only to reappear higher up and hurl shuriken down at him. Jack shot the projectiles down with fire bolts before taking aim at Solo. Behind him, Tia dropped down, her armor glowing, and called down pillars of light to batter Geo as he tried to get up. When she landed, Geo threw a vicious uppercut that pierced her barrier and stunned her briefly. He drew back his fist, let out a long breath, and backed up.

"You hear what Sonia said, kid?" Mega asked.

"Yeah," Geo said. "Guess we need to be careful not to let the Noise overwhelm us as we fight…but as we fight, we generate more and more. This could be rough."

Jack slashed Solo's back and took off, peppering Geo and Sonia with flames as he did. Sonia rolled aside and blasted notes at him. Geo dodged an attack from Tia, and then fired an arrow up at Jack, clipping his wing and making him rapidly lose altitude. He had to act fast to evade Tia again, and noticed Solo drawing a glyph—he then ran his hand through it, generating four duplicates, and then waved outward, sending them flying out to surround Tia. With a crackle, each glyph hurled a powerful bolt of purple lightning at Tia's barrier, causing it erupt from five sides at once and leaving very little water left to shield her. Seeing this, Geo rushed forward with a sword, just as Solo swung Laplace from the other side. They successfully broke through. Tia was swift to strike back, but still missed as they retreated.

Sonia tried to keep her mind clear as she played for her spirits, directing their attacks in an attempt to box Jack in. Even on the ground, he was still extremely agile, and managed to surprise her with a fire bolt that hit her leg. Sonia knelt, feeling a swell of fury, but pushed it away. It bounced right back when Jack came forward to kick her in the face.

"You mighta got lucky last time," Corvus said, "but Virgo and I are unstoppable together! You're done for this time, Harp Note!"

"Give up already," Jack said. "With your wave body, you could just leave, find some other planet to hide out on. If you keep fighting, you're just going to die!"

Sonia clenched her teeth as she worked to get a handle on her emotions. Looking up at Jack, she said, "And leave Earth? Let all those other people die? Never!"

"Why do they matter to you?! What have they done that makes you think they deserve to live?"

Jack swiped. Sonia jumped away, fought off the urge to strike back, and said, "Nothing! It's not something anyone needs to earn, Jack! Everyone's life has value—everyone will be missed by someone when they're gone!"

"Even all the rotten bastards?"

" _Everyone_ can change! It's something we all have the capacity to do, and something I refuse to deny anyone!"

Jack continued swiping, Sonia dancing away from each one. "You think King will change? Did Joker change?! Your crumby ideals have their limits, Sonia!"

A surprise wing attack knocked Sonia to the ground. She came right back up, barely getting around Jack, and managed to snare him in strings.

"I know!" she said. "…I know. Even if everyone can change, not everyone does. I understand that better than ever now."

"Then why bother?" Jack asked, twisting around. "You can't change everyone, so why keep trying?"

A red aura formed around Sonia. "Because some people _will_ change! Maybe not everyone, maybe not even that many, but as long as I can convince even _one_ person to change their ways, I'm going to keep doing everything I can to see that they do!"

Jack struggled free and attacked Sonia. However, Noise was now wrapping around her, shielding her from the blow. Far above, in the shell of Crimson that surrounded the entire area, intricate pathways lit up and shifted, as data streamed between them rapidly.

"So what if my ideals have limits? That doesn't make them worthless! I'll still hold onto them, still do as much good as I possibly can with them! Maybe I can't change the whole world…but I won't know for sure unless I try! And that's absolutely worth the risk!"

The pathways converged above Sonia, firing a beam of light directly down upon her. Her aura grew denser, folding into a spherical shape, and when it all fell away, Sonia was in her Red Joker form once again, staring at Jack with a focus that stunned him momentarily.

"...H-Hey," Corvus said, "so what? The fight's not over! Keep up the pressure, Jack!"

Hesitantly, Jack rushed forward and slashed with his wing. Sonia raised one arm, catching the blow on her armor, and then turned her head.

"Geo!" she shouted. "Try Finalizing! With that level of control over Noise, it's not able to corrupt you at all!"

She swung her arm, repelling Jack. Expecting a follow-up, he braced himself, but Sonia just stood there. Jack launched fire bolts as he flew over Sonia, but she blocked them with her guitar. Growling in frustration, Jack lit his claws and continued his attack, growing more and more relentless with every swing.

Geo and Solo backed away as Tia called down more light pillars. Glancing at his Hunter arm, Geo said, "Finalize…are we ready for that?"

"We're gonna have to give it our best shot!" Mega said. "I might be able to handle the extra aggression this Noise is causing, but seeing you going wild is actually freaking me out."

Tia sent a water dragon after Geo, but Solo launched a glyph at it: the dragon was teleported to the side, instead hitting Jack as he kept futilely trying to hurt Sonia. A look of terror filled Tia's eyes as she watched to see if he was alright.

"Do it now, kid!" Mega said.

Nodding, Geo breathed deeply, focusing on the Ace Program and the Noise that was flooding into it. A red aura formed, and Solo rushed at Tia to keep her distracted. He launched a kick straight through her barrier, sending her reeling, and then slammed Laplace down to engulf her in a bright blaze of purple. As he waited for the smoke to clear, he was already forming more glyphs.

Tia looked back at Jack—he was up—and then whirled on Solo. "What stake do you even have in this?! You've no reason to care for this world! Why should it grieve you to see it end?"

"I never said it would," Solo said. "I'm just here to push the limits of Murian power."

A water dragon coiled around Tia, who shouted, "And for what?! Do you hope to avenge your fallen culture? Do you think battling in darkness will show _anyone_ the supposed splendor of your people? What reason do you have to continue to fight, Rogue?!"

The flames on Solo's hand flared suddenly, reaching all the way up his arm. He winced, but finished the last glyph he was making—and then a brilliant light covered his blade. Hefting Laplace, he paused, and then gave a smirk.

"I suppose I just enjoy it," he answered.

He swung. At first, the attack seemed ineffective. But then, Tia's barrier burst into droplets, and a massive cut appeared on her armor, purple smoke seeping out of it. Her knees buckled, dropping her to the road. The dragon, however, rose higher.

"You…reckless…child…!" Tia groaned.

She raised her staff. A single light pillar shot down, hitting the head of the dragon; the light was refracted through the water, splitting the attack into dozens of beams that sliced out in random directions. Solo dodged what he could, Laplace blocking all but one of the rest. Jack had seen the attack coming, and so had gotten out of the way in time, and Sonia seemed unfazed. Geo, however, took several of the beams directly. Everyone looked to him as he wobbled back and forth, barely staying upright. He locked eyes on Tia.

"…You look worried," he murmured.

Tia slowly pushed herself up. "…Nonsense."

"Ms. Tia—"

"Don't call me that!" she snapped. "I'm no teacher! That pitiful life was a ruse, all for this! It was _all_ for the sake of this wish! Don't you understand? We _must_ finish this! Are you really so cruel as to deny us the one solace we've chased all these years?!"

Geo stood tall. "…Yes…and no."

His aura grew deeper.

"I won't let Meteor G collide with Earth. I won't let you 'eradicate technology', and kill innocent people. But now, I think I know the reason why you're doing this…the _real_ wish you think this plan will fulfill. And you're right: to deny you that true wish—for you and Jack to finally be safe and happy—would be cruel. So I'll have to prove to you that those two things are separate."

A spark caught Tia's eye. Down below, on the opposite side of the Noise shell, pathways were lighting up once again.

"You see," Geo said, "I have a wish of my own, one that I've been holding onto for a few years now. That wish…is to have my father back home. And for the first time, that's in my grasp. So while there's a contradiction in your motivation…mine…is perfectly clear!"

A beam of light rose from the Noise, connecting it to Geo as Crimson consumed him. Soon, the distortion passed, and Geo's transformation was revealed: sleek black and grey armor covered him, looking almost like a second skin save for where it rounded over his chest and shoulders, with bright green lines bordering each individual segment of the design. His helmet was similarly aerodynamic, with lengthy fins on either side of his face and a single flat horn that sprouted up from the center of his forehead before arcing gracefully back. Floating behind him were long, narrow strips of black metal, arranged into the shape of two wings and held together by a thin, constantly shifting film of reddish-pink Noise.

Geo lifted off the Wave Road, clenching and unclenching his fists as he took stock of the power he now possessed. "…Black Ace Mega Man."

He lifted his buster. Tia immediately raised her shield, but in the fraction of a second it took to form, half a dozen blasts connected with her. She looked down at herself in shock, and then back up to see Geo right in front of her with a sword. The blade sliced through her shield in an instant, lopping the end off of her staff; Tia willed a shockwave to emerge from it, but Geo was behind her before the attack commenced.

"Father…" Jack said. "Wait. That guy with King is your father?"

Geo turned sharply. "W…What? You saw my dad? King's with him?!"

Jack looked up the slope, Geo following his gaze. He paused a moment, but then shook his head, turning back to the fight.

"Geo," Sonia said. When he looked up, she smiled, continuing, "Go. We can handle this."

Geo gave a nod, and then in the blink of an eye, he was gone, leaving only a wake of Noise trailing uphill. Jack turned to see Sonia smiling at him now, and he gritted his teeth in response.

"Wipe that stupid grin off your face!" Jack said. "What do I care if it's his dad? I just wanted him out of the way so we can pick you two off even more easily!"

Jack and Tia regrouped, so Sonia and Solo did the same. Sonia said, "Sorry, hope you don't mind."

"Why would I?" Solo said.

"Hehe, thanks." Her eyes were drawn to his still-burning arm. "…I haven't seen it do that before."

Solo turned towards her slightly, but then faced their foes again. "It's nothing. Don't let it distract you."

"You okay Sis?" Jack asked, hovering above the opening in Tia's barrier.

"…Fine," she said, dropping her broken staff. "Jack. We need to make the most of this opportunity."

"O-Of course! Let's get this over with, then!"

The flame atop Jack's helmet began to burn brighter, reaching up as he spread his arms wide. As he did, Tia brought her hands together, and the waters guarding her began to churn wildly, sprouting water dragons in rapid succession. Seven serpent heads encircled Tia, while dozens of purple flames hovered in the air around Jack. Solo adjusted his stance, but to his surprise, Sonia stepped in front of him.

"My armor can take anything they can throw," Sonia said. "Let me hold their attack off, while you come up with some way to defeat them."

Solo scowled. "What, are you worried about me? I told you—"

"That's not it. I'm just doing what I think will end this the quickest."

Reluctantly, Solo took a few short steps back. Sonia summoned her two towering speakers as she braced herself.

"Jack! Tia! This is the final track! So open your hearts…and listen!"

She began to play as the siblings executed their assault. Powerful Noise exploded out of the speakers, forming a barrier around Sonia that easily held off the fire bolts that tried to arc around her to hit Solo. Most of the rest were blasted apart by the sound waves that intercepted them, and the few that did make it through bounced harmlessly off of Sonia's armor. Amidst this downpour of flames, the water dragons took turns lunging forward to crash against Sonia; the first few shook her up a little, but she adjusted quickly, standing her ground as they continued. There was a small pause in Jack's barrage: the seven dragons all shot out at once, each coming at Sonia from a different angle. Sonia jumped back, angled her guitar, and just as they were all upon her, she fired a wide beam of Noise, shredding all the constructs apart at once. As they burst, however, she became aware of two enormous claws made of purple flame that hung in the air above her. Faster than she could react, they plummeted, catching her shoulders just right that they caught her arms and forced her down on one knee.

"Got you now!" Jack said. "Let's see if you're as durable as you think!"

Tia's armor shone brilliantly, and she held one open palm forward. Sonia mentally prepared as focused light lanced out in her direction. However, the beam never hit her. Solo, surrounded by at least twenty floating glyphs, appeared in front of her, using Laplace's barrier to hold back the oncoming torrent of light.

"Hmph," he grunted. "What made you think I would let you win?"

He ran forward, keeping one hand against the barrier as the beam was split apart by his advance. Jack shouted, but there was nothing he could do—Solo's fist connected with Tia, purple light shooting out from the point of impact, and she was hurled to the very edge of the platform. As Jack began to move, Solo threw aside his other hand: Laplace emerged from his shoulder, passing through one of the glyphs as they did, and split into two identical Wizards who flanked Jack and transformed into swords. The twin blades arced up, crossing as they cut Jack, and then returned to their Wizard forms just above him to smack him down into Solo's grasp. He threw Jack to his sister's side, and the claws holding Sonia down dissipated.

"Awesome!" Sonia said as she came forward. The two Laplaces merged back into one as the glyphs faded, and she watched Jack and Tia struggle to their feet. "I told you, this fight is over. No encores."

"No…" Tia croaked. "We…will not…be stopped! I've given up too much for this! I have…to make sure…Jack is safe…!"

Beside her, Jack said, "Sis…what should we do?"

Tia glared at Sonia. Before she could act, however, a sudden pressure was exerted on her, and both she and Jack were dragged back down to the platform. Able to raise her head for just a moment, she spotted Geo floating back down the ramp, holding an orb of black energy in his outstretched hand.

"Seems you guys did just fine," Geo said. "I know it's kind of late now, but I hope you'll let me pitch in a little more."

"What are you doing back here?" Sonia asked. "What about your dad?"

Geo shook his head. "I can't get to him. He and King are behind a Crimson barrier, and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't break through. I shouted, but they couldn't even hear me…we're going to need to figure out some way to disable it before we can go forward."

"Don't…talk like you've won!" Tia said. "We're not through yet!"

Jack looked to her, then to Geo, then at the road. Ultimately, he let out a heavy sigh, and he said, "No, Sis…I think we are."

Giving him a horrified look, she said, "What? No, Jack! You can't lose hope!"

"It's okay, Sis. We lost…and, maybe…it's for the best."

He reached out, just barely able to take hold of Tia's hand.

"I've been thinking…maybe they're right. Maybe we really would just be repeating the same mistakes that ruined our lives. I…I don't want to put more kids through the hell we went through. And I know you don't really want to either."

Tia bit her lip as tears started to well in her eyes.

"I know this was what kept us going. But…maybe it's enough just that it got us this far. We're finally free from King's control. We have what we needed…so maybe it's okay to find a different wish now." After a pause, he added, "Can we?"

Silence stretched on. Then, with a gentle sob, Tia squeezed her brother's hand, nodded, and said, "Okay, Jack…I…I just want you to be happy. I-I thought this was the only thing that could do that, but…if you really think this is the way…then okay."

Jack smiled at her. "Thanks, Sis. I'm positive: we're _both_ gonna be a lot happier this way."

Suddenly, the pressure was gone. Jack and Tia looked to Geo, who said, "I'm glad. Like we said, we'll do whatever we can to help you. We've still got a job to do here, but for now, why don't you two get some rest?"

"Right," Jack said. "…H-Hey, Geo."

"Huh?"

"I'll get it if you say no, but…do you think, eventually…we could all become friends again? I…I'd really like that…"

Geo chuckled. "Of course! I'm happy to hear you want to stay friends, Jack!"

Jack nodded, and then turned back to Tia. Quietly, Mega said, "Seems like a happy ending…but, there's still one thing I'm worried about."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Corvus shouted as he materialized next to Jack. "What is this crap?! You're seriously just gonna give up?"

Virgo materialized as well, saying, "No no no no! You can't quit now! I still have to kill these guys! We were gonna kill so many people—how can you pass up a chance like that?!"

"Come on," Jack said, "let it go already. We've already decided."

Tia closed her eyes, saying, "I'm tired of fighting…I'm ready to stop."

Virgo waved her fists around as she whined, while Corvus floated there grinding his teeth together. Sonia said, "You two should stand down. We don't want to hurt you. Earth and Planet FM are allies now, so we can—"

"Shut up!" Corvus said. "I'm sick of hearing that! The FM King goes to destroy Earth, and then suddenly he wants to change our whole planet to be all goody-goody? Where do you get off telling us the way we operate is wrong?!"

"Yeah, yeah!" Virgo chimed in. "We hate your preachy shtick! That's the whole reason we joined Scorpio's movement—the whole reason we came to Earth to try to kill you!"

Sonia prepared to ask, but Mega cut her off: "We gotta bag 'em. They ain't gonna listen to reason, and they're too dangerous to set loose. 'Sides, if Wolf found out Corvus got away, he'd be in the worst mood of his life."

"I'm in agreement with Mega," Lyra said. "Virgo has never understood the consequences of her actions—you can't expect her to start thinking things through now."

"What are you talking about?" Virgo asked. "Do you seriously know me somehow? What's your beef with me?"

Lyra materialized, glaring daggers at the other FM-ian. "My 'beef'? I just explained: you never understood the consequences of what you did! We never met, but I knew you, Virgo…I looked up to you. Planet FM is a world dominated by males, but you overcame that! You, a female FM-ian, were one of the king's elite warriors! You inspired so many of us—finally, proof that we could still achieve the things we'd dreamed of but never felt able to do! You made us think things were going to change…and because of you, they did. They became even worse."

Virgo scratched her head. "Huh? How?"

"When in your boredom you defected to a life of murder, your example became a weapon to be used against us! Now even those who might've considered giving female FM-ians a chance would not, justifying it by saying they didn't want to risk another Virgo! I didn't let it stop me…but because of you, climbing the ladder was more hellish than I ever dreamed! It ate away at my soul to such a degree, I shudder to think of what I'd have become without Sonia's influence!" Lyra stopped to breathe. "You're hardly the only person to blame for the hardships faced by me, by Ophiuca, by every other female…but you had a choice in the matter, and chose to contribute rather than to repair. And even now that I've laid it all out for you, you still don't understand, do you, Virgo?"

Rolling her eyes, Virgo said, "Look, I don't really get what you're so upset. You want power or something? You've got plenty of it! Now shut up and wait patiently until I come over there to murder you!"

Lyra shook her head. Turning back around, she moved to dematerialize, but Sonia set a hand on her shoulder to stop her. The girl smiled at her. It was a moment before she felt up to it, but Lyra was able to genuinely return the gesture.

"So…what are we going to do with them?" Geo asked. "We'd better hurry up: we're running out of time."

Corvus looked to Virgo. They both nodded. In a flash, Jack and Tia's Wave Changes were undone, and before they realized what had happened, the two FM-ians swung at their former partners. A blur streaked past them, and they swung through empty space. Jack, Tia, and Geo now stood on the other side of the platform, with Sonia generating a barrier in front of them. The criminals turned to renew their attack, but that was when Solo punched the ground, causing geysers of purple to spew up from beneath them. Solo winced as he executed the attack. When it had settled, Virgo and Corvus remained covered in flames, shouting as the corruptive energy slowly broke down their bodies. Sonia barely had time to process what was happening, and then it was over. She stared at Solo's back as he stood.

"…That was unintentional," Solo said. "I only wanted to subdue them."

Sonia let out a long breath. Lowering the barrier, she turned and said, "Is everyone okay?"

"I think so," Jack said. "But, uh…"

"Our Noise Blockers were installed in them," Tia said. "We need to get out of here, fast."

"Oh, right!" Sonia said. "Do you think they'll be safe back in the rocket?"

"I hope so," Geo said. "We'll need to help them back through the Noise Wave to make sure no viruses get them, but we also need to find a way to disable that barrier up ahead."

"We should probably split up," Sonia said. "Let's see…"

"I'll take them," Solo said.

The others turned toward him.

"My Darklight Harvester…is at its limit," he went on, raising the bracelet. "The Noise here is so dense that it's simply too much for the device, and so its energy is beginning to run wild."

Nodding slowly, Sonia said, "Oh, that's why you couldn't hold back your attack…"

"I can't do any more good here. Harp Note, Mega Man, you'll have to handle King and the core without me. I'll take these two back to the rocket and wait for you to wrap up."

"Thank you, Solo. We'll try not to be too long."

Solo walked over to Jack and Tia. He paused as if to say something, but then resumed walking, so the siblings moved quickly to avoid being left behind. Geo and Sonia prepared to move forward, when suddenly, data pathways all around the space began lighting up.

"What now?" Geo asked.

Light flashed on the Wave Road, directly in Solo's path. He jumped back, immediately entering a battle stance, and sized up the new arrival: he was an EM being, one that looked remarkably human-like, exuding some eerie presence as he scanned the group. He wore an oddly-fashioned black coat with a ring-shaped emblem on the chest and a red stripe down the front, and his legs were covered in the same material. His face was thin, with very simple features that made it seem to disappear into his red skin, and from beneath his silver and red cap fell a sheet of straight black hair that reached his shoulders.

"W…who are you?" Sonia said.

The newcomer looked to Jack and Tia. As he raised his hand, Solo moved in front of them; a second later, the siblings were each surrounded by a small orb of translucent blue light. The stranger nodded.

"Those Noise Barriers will preserve you," he said, his voice soft but clear. "Forgive the intrusion. I thought it best to speak with you in person, Solo."

Solo took a step to the side. "…And why is that?"

"I have much to explain," he said, looking back over everyone. "I should start by introducing myself. I am Blitzar of Planet XM, former Administrator of the Meteor Server."

* * *

Notes:

-As promised, here's the rest of the battle. I'd been looking forward to this one and wanted to be sure it was exciting, but at the same time I don't want to overdo it…especially considering we still have a bit more excitement coming up.

-Like I said way back when I started, I knew I would never be able to have Sonia showcase every Noise Change. However, when I got to this fight I realized the only Noises she hasn't at least incorporated into a Multi-Noise were Virgo, Corvus, and Libra, so I thought it'd be worth it to take a moment to hammer out some details for Libra Noise. No one was ever going to feel comfortable using Virgo or Corvus in any capacity, but turns out I managed to at least partially cover all the rest! (I was really tempted to turn her scarf into the scales, but that would've been just a tad too awkward.) Since they're inside the Meteor Server, I thought it'd be a fun visual flair to see the files reacting in the outer shell, with Red Joker and Black Ace coming from opposite sides because...duality? I dunno, it seemed cooler that way.

-Solo figuring out his reason to fight was more of a secondary development for him, so I felt it was safe to go with a simple solution. Not everything needs to have some grand motivation—sometimes you just like things. More important was him reaching a point where he was willing to do something selfless to thank Sonia: I doubt he'd say they're friends, but he's managed to get on very good terms with the group and secretly is happy about it, and has a genuine desire to help them. There are a couple of plot reasons I had to leave him out of the Crimson Dragon fight, which is unfortunate, but he's about to get a _very_ nice reward for his successful development.

-Honestly this power trio had great odds of winning even at the start of this fight. Sonia Finalizing made their victory even more likely, and Geo Finalizing all but assured it. Geo going on to try to see Kelvin was done to try to preserve a little more tension for the battle's end—Black Ace will be showcased more thoroughly in the Crimson Dragon fight.

-I wanted to add a personal reason for Lyra to hate Virgo…unfortunately, events got out of hand, and I never found the right time to elaborate until now. But, obnoxious as she is, I'm sure her death still brings some catharsis. And as for the mention of Scorpio, that's tied to my next point.

-You were probably expecting someone else, but as you may be able to glean from Blitzar's design, he is related to that other guy. But for that guy, I have something else in mind. Something that involves him and a few others you may've been missing, and will require some special attention. More on that later. (Also, a "Blitzar" is a theoretical astronomical object: a spinning pulsar rapidly collapsing into a black hole, proposed as a way to explain "fast radio bursts".)

-Next time we'll learn something interesting, finally lay eyes on Kelvin, and engage the final boss. This is something else I've looked forward to, for it'll involve something I hope you'll find quite entertaining.


	38. Chapter 38

"Administrator…of the Noise Server?" Sonia repeated.

"Former," Blitzar corrected. "That title currently belongs to Kelvin Stelar."

Geo started. "W—my dad?! How did that happen?"

"As I said, I have much to explain. However, due to the threat concerning the Darklight Harvester, I believe it best I conduct my business with Solo first so that he may exit the server."

Reluctantly, Geo nodded. Solo was still in a fighting stance, and said, "Out with it, then. What business do you have with me?"

Blitzar held out one hand. His emblem glowed faintly, and then an object appeared in his palm: a large chunk of some sort of metal. Solo's eyes instantly widened.

"I have decided to return the xarium to you. Here."

He offered it to Solo, who carefully reached out and took it. After staring at it a moment more, he turned back to Blitzar, asking, "Why do you have this?"

"When Meteor G began heading for Earth, I scouted ahead to examine the planet's status. I detected the energy readings of the xarium and took it from its shrine, with the intention of studying it."

"You were going to study it?"

"Of course. This is the metal your people used to create Le Mu. We were impressed with the machine, but were never able to acquire a sample to learn more about its properties. This seemed to be the final opportunity to do so."

Solo stared at Blitzar as he processed his words, his face shifting ever so slightly as he seemed to reach some sort of epiphany. He then brought the xarium to the Proof of Loneliness on his shoulder, and with a small burst of EM waves, the ingot was absorbed, and the piece of armor took on a brilliant silver sheen. Solo shuddered briefly, and then nodded.

"…Thank you for returning it," he said. "I believe our business is done."

"Indeed," Blitzar said. He stepped aside and gestured towards the exit. Solo, Jack, and Tia all walked past him, and he then turned to Sonia and Geo.

"Alright," Geo said, "can you please tell me about my dad now? How did he end up here? How did he become Administrator?"

"I will explain," Blitzar said. "Kelvin Stelar, while wandering space as an EM being, encountered Meteor G and was pulled inside the server by accident. I was curious, so I bestowed Noise Immunity upon him. We conversed, and after learning all I needed, I offered to deposit him on the nearest planet. However, he declined: he said that he was not familiar with the area of space and thought it best to travel within Meteor G until he reached a system he recognized. He's been quite the engaging specimen, always proposing games and wagers to pass the time. I informed him when we drew near Earth, expecting he would wish to leave then, but he reacted with concern upon learning the meteor was approaching the planet. He asked me to alter its course. I did not."

"Why not?" Sonia asked. "Don't you care if Meteor G destroys the Earth?"

"This meteor has destroyed many planets since its construction. Regrettably, I am bound by the parameters of my assignment to merely observe where it was pulled by other Noise in the galaxy. I must not interfere."

"You…you let entire planets die, just because…" She glanced to Geo, ultimately letting go of the rest of her sentence.

"As for Kelvin," Blitzar went on, "when I said I would not alter the course, he proposed a wager. We would play a game, and if he won, he would be named the Administrator of the Meteor Server, so that he could redirect it himself. He lost. He proposed the same wager many times, but I repeatedly beat him. Eventually I grew tired of this and stopped accepting these proposals. However, during the final stretch of the approach, he presented new conditions: if I would accept the game, and if I won, he would never ask for another chance." He chuckled softly. "…He won. So, I transferred Administrator rights to him and then continued to observe."

"But, I don't get it," Geo said. "If Dad's the Admin, then why is Meteor G still headed towards Earth?"

"It was already too late. The excessive Noise on planet Earth has been pulling on the Noise that makes up the Meteor Server, and vice-versa; at such proximity, this attractive force was too great for the meteor to pull away from. Kelvin was able to slow its course, but that was all."

"Dad…"

"Well I'll be damned," Mega said. "Kelvin's been toughing it out in this inhospitable dump, still finding a way to help save the Earth. That guy never ceases to amaze!"

Geo smiled at this, but only for a moment. "Wait. I saw King with him, and that barrier…"

"Yes," Blitzar said, pointing. "King has issued Kelvin a challenge similar to the one Kelvin issued me. They are now in the midst of a game, and the winner will automatically be named Administrator of the Meteor Server. The barrier was erected to prevent outside assistance—it can only be disengaged by the Administrator, and so will stand until the title is bestowed."

His gaze falling, Geo murmured, "So all we can do for now is wait, and hope Dad wins."

"That is all the information I have regarding Kelvin Stelar," Blitzar said. "If you have any other questions, I will answer, but if not—"

"Hold on, dear," Lyra said as she materialized. "I still have questions about this Meteor Server: why it was constructed, why it possesses so much FM-ian data, things like that. Care to enlighten me?"

Blitzar shifted slightly. "…Of course. The Meteor Server was constructed by Planet XM several years ago as a self-sustaining mobile research lab: I am stationed here to observe where it is drawn, gathering some information about worlds it passes or destroys, as well as run a wide variety of experiments involving Noise in order to perfect our data on the subject. As for the FM-ian data, that is something of a side project."

"Exactly what sort of 'side project' requires data on our species' combat abilities? And perhaps more importantly, where did you obtain such data?"

"Obtaining the data was easy. As the server passed worlds that had been attacked or destroyed by Planet FM, leftover EM waves were pulled into its databanks. It did not perfectly integrate into the system—I suspect this is why your Noise Control Programs were able to access the files so easily—but it still provided an excellent opportunity to carry out experiments utilizing the combat data of many FM-ian warriors."

A sickened look crossed Lyra's face. "…So then…the data we've been accessing is the remnants of our past wars? That's rather unsavory to hear…"

"It is simply data," Blitzar said.

"…Hey," Mega said. "Any chance…you got some data from Planet AM in here?"

"No, we do not. The server did not pass through the area of space Planet AM formerly occupied."

"Huh, makes sense…"

Blitzar looked at his wrist. "Does this information answer your remaining questions? If so, I must take my leave: I am expected back on Planet XM for a debriefing."

Sonia looked over Lyra and Mega. Facing Blitzar, she said, "I do have some questions, but we're in a hurry too."

"I see. Perhaps some other time, then. I am certain we shall encounter each other again: a colleague of mine is closely observing Planet FM right now, and I would be surprised if his studies did not eventually lead him here to the species' 'second home' as it were."

Glaring, Lyra asked, "Why are you people so fixated on us? It's unnerving."

Blitzar gave it some thought, and then shook his head a little. "There is no precise reason, truthfully. I suppose we simply find you fascinating."

" _Fascinating_? Well, that doesn't sound condescending in the least."

"It was meant as a compliment. Once we observed what you did with Andromeda, we were very impressed by your ingenuity; Planet FM has been on our radar ever since."

Lyra groaned. "Goodness, this entire conversation is nothing but bad memories, it seems."

"I apologize, but will that be all?" Blitzar said. "I really must be going."

"Alright, go ahead," Sonia said. "But if we do bump into each other again, there's a lot more I want to know."

Blitzar nodded. "I understand. Until then."

He vanished in a flash. Sonia turned to Geo, who was already staring up the incline. They started walking.

"Everyone alright?" Sonia asked. "That was a lot to take in…"

"I'll be fine once I get Dad back," Geo said. "Thanks, I'm okay."

"It'll be nice to spend time with Kelvin again!" Mega said. "I've really missed the guy these past few years. Glad to know that hare-brained escape plan of his actually worked out for the best."

Lyra stayed quiet. Sonia was about to ask again, but she said, "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit shaken. It's distressing to know that the records of our sins were all saved in this place, that they can be called up on demand so easily. That it was all apparently brought about by Andromeda's reign of terror only mortifies me further."

Sonia gazed out at the Noise flowing by. "It must be painful. I'm sorry. But, you know…remembering a mistake also means remembering how far you've come since then. And, because all of those memories are here, we've been able to use them as Noise Changes to do some real good. Maybe that doesn't make up for making those mistakes in the first place, but…it's already done. All we can do now is decide where we go from here."

There was a moment of silence, and then Lyra laughed. "Always able to find the bright side. Thank you, Sonia. It means a lot to hear that from you."

They reached the top of the incline to be met with a massive wall of Noise. Barely, they could see beyond it: a wide platform extended past the shield, and at the center were King and Kelvin, staring intently at the cards in their hands.

"I can't tell if he's winning," Geo mumbled.

"He will," Sonia said. "When it counts, he doesn't fail, right? That's the impression I get whenever I hear about him."

Geo tried to smile, his worry unfortunately winning out. As Sonia turned back to the game, she noticed something at the far end of the platform, and squinted to try to make it out. Attached to the Wave Road through a series of cables and pipes was a large sphere that appeared to be made of yellow glass. Sonia stumbled back in disbelief.

"W-What?!" Geo asked. "What is it?"

"Another one…just like the others!" Sonia said. "Blitzar, he mentioned Andromeda, and Le Mu…and he's got one powering Meteor G, so…"

"Goodness," Lyra said. "Then all these oddly similar power cores we've encountered—they were made by Planet XM?"

Movement drew everyone's attention. Kelvin laid out his cards, and then turned to King and waited. A tense moment passed as King examined his own hand…and then set the cards aside, hanging his head.

"…He won?" Geo said.

Kelvin got to his feet with a smile. He faced the barrier, beginning to raise an arm, but froze when he saw Geo. Staring at his son, Kelvin waved his hand slowly; the barrier disappeared, and Geo tentatively walked forward.

"I…guess it's been a while," Geo said. "You might not recognize me, but—"

He was cut off as Kelvin hugged him. "Of course I recognize you, Geo. It's so good to finally see you again."

Geo was stunned for a moment. Then, returning the embrace, he said, "Yeah…it's great to see you too, Dad. I missed you so much…"

"I'm sorry I was gone for so long. I'm sorry I missed so much of you growing up."

"It's not your fault—you don't need to apologize! I just…I just…" Geo started to sob. "Dad…"

Sonia glanced over at King. He remained in place, still staring down at his desk.

When Geo and Kelvin finally separated, Mega appeared beside them, saying, "So this is where you've been hiding out Kelvin! 'Bout time you made it back!"

"Mega!" Kelvin said. "Good to see you too! I really owe you one for helping me escape Planet FM."

"Nah, don't worry about it. You ended up helping me do the same thing, so far as I'm concerned, we're even."

"Heh, if you say so. I guess you've been living on Earth with Geo and Hope?" Kelvin paused. "…Hope's alright, isn't she?"

"Mom's fine!" Geo said. "I mean…she's been missing you too, but she never stopped believing you'd make it home someday! She's going to be so happy to see you again!"

Kelvin grinned at this. It was now that he noticed Sonia, and asked, "Who's your friend?"

"Oh, right! Dad, this is one of my Brothers, Sonia Strumm!"

"What? Rosa's daughter?"

Sonia nodded. "That's right. Nice to meet you, Mr. Stelar!"

"Wow. How's Rosa doing? I bet she's ready to give me an earful as soon as I get back, huh?"

Sonia averted her eyes. "…Um…"

A frown gradually took over Kelvin's face. "…Oh. Did something happen?"

"…Yeah. Mama's in Heaven now."

Kelvin gave a solemn nod. "Wow. I'm really sorry to hear that. Your mother was an amazing woman, Sonia—it was a privilege to be able to work alongside her."

She smiled a bit. "Thank you. But, right now…"

They all turned towards King. He finally looked up, shrugging a bit and saying, "I did the best that I could. You defeated me fair and square, Mr. Stelar."

"That's right," Kelvin said. "I'd never lose to someone with intentions like yours! Now, as Administrator of this server, I demand that you leave."

He snapped his fingers. Nothing happened. Kelvin furrowed his brow; a spark then came from the core, and King smirked at him.

"But then," King said, "I've rarely been one to play 'fair and square'. Ho ho ho ho!"

King floated over towards the core. Kelvin shouted, "What…what did you do?!"

"You're as simple-minded as they come, Mr. Stelar. So focused on the game in front of your eyes, meanwhile I directed my attention to an alternate strategy. Yes, you were so confident you could win that you agreed to temporarily suspend your Admin privileges…leaving the server completely unprotected."

The core continued to spark as King laughed. Geo and Sonia came forward, the former saying, "Get back, Dad!"

"It was child's play to hack into the server without an Admin to stop me!" King said. "Even if you've regained those access rights, you won't be able to eliminate the backdoor that I've created! Full control over Meteor G is mine at last! Ho ho ho ho!"

Noise began to build up around King as sparks consumed the core. Sonia shouted, "King! This is your final warning! Give up Meteor G, or—"

"Or what, Harp Note? What have I to fear from the likes of you? Such simple, naïve, well-meaning folks who have but scratched the surface of what Noise is capable of!"

Electricity arced out from the core, binding it to King as the Noise continued to swell.

"Only the corrupted can master this force of corruption! Now, lay eyes upon the inevitable! Bear witness as Noise brings all of Earth to its knees!"

Sonia could just barely make out King being pulled into the core as the great mass of Noise around them began to take shape, sprouting what appeared to be two large wings and a long, serpent-like neck. The pipes that connected to the core had been upheaved, but still remained intact as they jutted out from the creature's torso like splintered bones. With a bright yellow flash, a layer of Noise at the front of the body was blown away, revealing the core—the wings raised then, as black, scale-like plates of metal coalesced along their upper edges, down the creature's back, and all around its neck. The erratic waves then formed a draconic head of red metal, with curved, segmented horns and geysers of ghastly blue Noise shooting from its cheeks. The creature roared. That alone had enough force to push its foes back slightly, as well as calling into being two great clawed gauntlets that connected themselves to its body through thick arms of Noise. A shell of reddish-purple light closed around the core, not completely hiding it from view; the monster then lowered its head to the Wave Road, eyeing those gathered to oppose it, and laughed.

"Ho ho ho ho ho!" King said through the dragon's mouth. "Such incredible power! It's even greater than I dared to dream! This erases all doubt: this body, this Crimson Dragon I have birthed, is undefeatable!"

"I've heard that before," Sonia said. "Nothing's undefeatable, King! And if we have to, we'll prove it to you!"

"Dad," Geo said, "there's a Noise Wave back there that leads to a rocket Cyber Core. If you—"

"I'm not going anywhere," Kelvin said. "I'm still the Administrator! I should be able to reduce this thing's power, even if only a little! It might just give you the edge you need!"

The Dragon raised its head. "Oh no, I really must insist!"

It roared again. A portal appeared behind Kelvin, and suddenly his body locked up, wracked with pain as he found himself pulled towards it.

"I can't have you interfering with my victory, Kelvin Stelar! You are no longer welcome within this server!"

Geo managed to grab onto Kelvin's hand, struggling to keep his father in place. Sonia moved to attack the Dragon, but one of its claws disappeared, instantly reappearing above her. She narrowly dodged as it swiped towards her.

"Hang on, Dad!" Geo said. "I'll save you, I promise!"

"Rgh…Geo…forget about me!" Kelvin said. "You have to stop King! If he's really using all the power in the server, you need to focus everything you have on him!"

"What? But what about you?!"

"I'll be fine, Geo! Trust me!"

Geo shook his head. He pulled harder, but even still, they both slipped closer and closer to the opening. "I…I can't lose you again, Dad! I just got you back! I still need to bring you home!"

Sonia tried to help them, but the Dragon forced her back with its claws. "Now now, Harp Note: your business is with me!"

Grinning, Kelvin reached out and set a hand on Geo's shoulder. "Geo…I'm going to be okay. Once this is over, I'll find my way back to Earth, and we'll go see your mother together. That's well within my ability. But this fight is something only you and Sonia can handle! I know you can win, but not if you waste strength trying to save me! You have to let me go, son…otherwise there won't be an Earth for us to go home to!"

Geo shut his eyes tight, tears leaking out nonetheless. "…I love you, Dad."

"I love you too, son. I'll see you soon!"

It took all the willpower he possessed, but Geo let go of his father's hand. Kelvin shot through the portal, out into a field of stars, and as it closed before him, he gave one final shout.

"Show King your teamwork is stronger than his precious Noise!"

Geo put a hand to his face, quietly sobbing into it a few times. Then, taking a deep breath, he turned back around: Sonia was managing to fend off the Dragon's claw, but the monster seemed more amused at her resistance than anything else.

"You gonna be okay, kid?" Mega asked.

"…Yeah," Geo said. "I'll see him in a little bit."

He flew to Sonia's side, knocking the claw away with a powerful kick. The Dragon tilted its head as he landed, saying, "Done saying your goodbyes? We don't have long until Meteor G hits the Earth, you know. Time to go all-in! Ho ho ho ho ho!"

"Geo," Sonia said, "I—"

"We're going to beat him," Geo said. He armed his buster, and in his other hand, he created a sword of dark energy that he pointed at the Dragon. "We're going to stop King, destroy the core, and save the Earth and everyone on it. Right?"

Smiling, Sonia readied her guitar. "Right. Maybe it won't be easy, but we're not taking him on alone! All of our loved ones are sending their strength to us, cheering us on, because they know we can do this! With their help, we can't possibly lose! Ready when you are, Geo!"

"Let's rock—"

"—and roll!"

Sonia blasted the Dragon's face with a beam of Noise. While she distracted it, Geo circled the area, peppering its entire body with shots to probe for weak points. Simply shrugging off their attacks, the Crimson Dragon swiped at Sonia, only narrowly missing her, while a small bunch of Noise started to form near its head. The waves shaped into a missile that shot out at Geo—he was a bit surprised, but the speed Black Ace afforded him was more than enough to dodge in time. Charging in, Geo stabbed at the Dragon's head repeatedly, his attacks unable to pierce its scales, while Sonia loaded a Battle Card into her guitar. When she played, spinning blades came flying towards their enemy, changing direction in midair to avoid the Dragon's claws, and found their way to the core in its chest. Unfortunately, they broke to bits against the Noise that shielded it.

"There's always a shield," Sonia grumbled. "Geo, keep your eyes on the core! If I'm right, that's the key to beating him, but we're going to have to find a way to make it vulnerable first!"

"Ho ho, think you can?" the Dragon said. "I'll wipe you fools from existence _long_ before you'll have the chance to finish me!"

A spread of missiles flew out from the creature. Geo dodged and fired wide blasts of water, while Sonia instead stood her ground, smacking an incoming missile with her guitar and sending it flying backwards to explode against the Dragon's shoulder. She punched back a claw that attempted to crush her, and then aimed at the Dragon's head; it raised both claws in response, and Sonia smirked. With a thud, her two tower speakers appeared on either side of the Dragon, each ejecting strings that wrapped around the nearest claw and held it firmly in place. Sonia then fired strings from her guitar, wrapping the Dragon's jaw shut, and used the immense strength granted by Red Joker to pull the massive beast's head down towards the Wave Road. The Dragon struggled to no avail. Geo appeared above it, and with three swift sword strikes, the head was severed, dissipating into Noise that swirled aimlessly around the server.

"There!" Sonia shouted—the Noise shielding the core was breaking down as well. "Give it all you've got!"

Geo assaulted the core with twin Vulcan guns, giving Sonia a chance to charge up power. When he moved out of the way, Sonia fired a particularly intense Noise beam, hitting the core dead-on. She prepared to charge another attack when the shell of waves spontaneously reformed.

 _What?_

As the Dragon's neck continued to flail, a geyser of Noise erupted next to its base, quickly solidifying into the form of a second neck. Noise concentrated at the ends of both, and a few seconds later, the Dragon had not only regenerated its head, but now had a second one. It laughed at them.

"Did you really think it would be that simple?" it taunted, bashing the speakers over the edge of the road. "The power of this server is vast, more vast than you can ever know! Cut off one head if you like, but more will simply grow in its place!"

Both maws opened to expel a raging torrent of Crimson, one sweeping over the platform to batter Sonia while the other filled the space above, tossing Geo about. When Sonia looked up, one head was snapping towards her—she jumped aside, pushed it with a short blast, and then backed away and placed a hand on the side of her helmet.

"Geo," she said into her helmet mic, "can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear."

"I figured this would be a safer way for us to coordinate. The core should open up if we can break the heads again, but it looks like we're only going to have a narrow window to work with."

Geo rolled to the side, narrowly making it past one of the Dragon's claws. "I wonder…even if it has two heads, it's still controlled by King, right? Do you think we'll still be able to split his focus?"

"Guess we should feel that out before making any major moves. Okay, I'll put on a show center stage!"

Sonia loaded a Battle Card and started playing. Bombs shot from her guitar, each erupting into an enormous explosion as soon as they made contact with something; the Dragon roared at this, swiping at Sonia fruitlessly. However, Sonia didn't see the second claw until it was too late. She was knocked down, and the Dragon prepared another breath attack. Geo shot at it from behind, causing both heads to turn, and focused his fire on one as he strafed to the side. The other head returned to Sonia, but its attack was delayed enough that she was able to punch it in the nose and get back up.

"It definitely expands his vision," Geo said, "but I think that's all. It's hard to say right now, but if this continues, controlling multiple heads might put more of a strain on him."

Sonia loaded another card, transforming her guitar into a giant axe. "Let's find out!"

She jumped, landing on an incoming missile just long enough to boost herself closer to the Crimson Dragon. Swinging, she cut one head across the cheek, twisting as she fell in order to kick the other as it tried to catch her. When she landed, she immediately raised the weapon to block as they both lunged. Geo swooped in then, hurling two spinning scythes, and chopped off the heads, revealing the core once again. Sonia hopped forward to smash her axe into it, pausing between swings to give Geo openings to launch arrows. They pulled back as soon as the shell returned, watching as the Dragon formed four heads, and watched carefully as their foe roared at them.

Something blindsided Geo. As he floundered, Sonia felt something stick her in the back, and turned to see spears made of Noise flying at her. She raised her arms to block, and then faced the Dragon to see more coming at her from that direction. Geo was facing his own swarm of them, two of the lances momentarily pinning his wings to the Wave Road, but once he teleported free he focused on evasion and managed to steer clear of any more. Sonia did her best to ignore the attacks and fired blast after blast, but she began to grow worried about how much damage she was taking.

"Sonia," Geo said as he zipped around the server, "I'm going to set you up! You should be able to wipe them all out temporarily!"

Battle Cards orbited the head of Sonia's guitar as she waited. On Geo's next pass, he dropped a small round object that fell between the heads—once it hit the Wave Road, it erupted in a large cloud of green, consuming the heads and surrounding the nearby area in grass. The spears stopped, and Sonia swiped a card. A great flamethrower spewed from her instrument, washing over the four heads in an instant, using the grass as fuel to burn even brighter. Geo's plan worked: the heads were eliminated, and the core unveiled. He reached out with both hands, calling dozens of small electrical orbs to rise up from the edges of the Wave Road, each slowly creeping towards the core as Sonia pulverized it with a continuous beam. The last orb struck just before the shell reformed, and now eight heads greeted them.

"Foolish children!" the Dragon said, raining more spears down upon its foes. "Why do you continue to struggle? Noise _cannot_ be stopped! Noise will ravage the Earth, and every other world, until it corrupts this entire universe!"

The spears ceased. Sonia cautiously kept her distance, only to see all eight heads reach up and blanket the sky with Crimson breath, leaving Geo nowhere to run. She quickly pivoted to attack—a flash from the core caught her attention, and suddenly a million tiny pinpoints of Noise shot out at her, stinging her entire body. Despite the pain, she still swung her glowing fist in a hook punch; every head recoiled as if struck, cutting off their aerial attack.

"You will become one with the Noise soon!" the Dragon said, swiping at Sonia with its claws. "But unlike me, I don't think you'll find it a pleasant experience!"

Geo shook his head as he found his balance again. Flying around behind the Dragon, his sword crackled with electricity, and with a single swing, he lopped off four of the heads. Bringing his blade back around, he cut off the other four, and then raised the weapon overhead before slashing down, calling a large thunderbolt to strike the core just as it was exposed. Sonia charged power as quickly as she could, flames springing up from her armor as she did. When she finally attacked, an immense, spiraling tongue of flame surged forth from her guitar head, charring the Wave Road and leaving a wreath of smoke that lingered around the now sixteen heads of the Crimson Dragon.

"Noise is inescapable as death itself!" they all shouted in unison. "Come, mortals, to meet the reaper's blade!"

"That core is still running?!" Geo exclaimed. "Sonia, are these big enemies always like this?"

"No," Lyra said, "usually they're mute, and it's a quality I find myself missing tremendously at the moment."

Spears rained down, complimented by an onslaught of missiles. Geo flew back as far as he could, eventually finding himself out of range of the worst of it, and Mega said, "Even if King's focus is split between all those heads, it doesn't matter much with these wide-range attacks of his! If this keeps up, we're gonna be in serious trouble!"

Sonia evaded what she could, saying, "We just have to hang in there! Everyone's counting on us, and we won't let them down!"

Noise burst from the Dragon's torso again. Sonia was able to catch some of it on her guitar, but what got around it still stung terribly. The creature said, "Even now you talk of your childish ideals! Powerful as your naiveté may be, even it shall be slowly eroded into nothing by the Noise!"

Sonia began to drop stone blocks on the heads, shrugging off the attacks that hit her. "I'm not being naïve! You think I don't know how hard it is to believe in people? To pursue ideals in a world that seems like it doesn't have room for them? I'm not naïve…but I'm going to keep believing! Maybe now I know how hard it is, but that just means I'm more prepared for the fight ahead! So I'll keep fighting! For my sake! For my friends' sake! For the sake of everyone who's willing to open their hearts and let themselves grow!"

She summoned two new speakers to her side.

"You think corruption is inevitable? I _know_ that isn't true!"

An ear-splitting sound pulse rammed straight into the Dragon. Its attacks all came to a halt as the heads wobbled about in a daze, giving Geo a chance to teleport next to Sonia. Both his buster and her guitar began to shine brightly.

"Hopefully this'll end it!" Geo said. "Hah!"

They each fired a volley of white energy blasts, tearing apart the heads and then pounding away at the core. As the attack raged on, sparks began to burst from the core, and hope swelled in the two young heroes. Then, Noise exploded out at them, overwhelming them both with stinging pain as thirty two Crimson Dragon heads formed to loom over them.

"Ho ho ho ho ho ho ho!" The laughs echoed all throughout the server. "Pretty words—that's all idealism is in the end! Draw your last breath in defiance if that shall make your passing peaceful! One way or another, your broken waves shall be but another folder in this server as it brings ruin to your world!"

The heads reared back in unison. Geo moved forward and threw up his shield just in time, protecting them both as waves and waves of Crimson spilled forth.

"Did you see the core?" Geo said. "We're close! If we can get one more round, I think it should be enough!"

Sonia caught her breath. "Alright…one last push."

"Sonia? You alright?" Another deluge of Noise came at them. Geo's shield held.

"I dunno. None of these attacks have been too bad thanks to this armor, but I've taken so many of them. I think…I might be nearing my limit." She readied her guitar, her speakers blaring to life in anticipation. "I can try to charge up all the power I have left. Hopefully I'll hold out, but if not…"

As she trailed off, Geo looked up at the Dragon, seeing it unleash even more Noise.

"No, maybe that's too risky," Sonia said. "I need to keep moving. We'll just keep at it, and—"

"It's alright," Geo interrupted. "You just charge your attack, Sonia. I'll protect you until then."

Sonia blinked. "What? Geo, he's just messing with us right now. Once he sees we're up to something, he's going to get serious—attack from all angles, with everything he's got! You need to focus on keeping yourself safe!"

Facing her, Geo said, "Even if we try to play it safe, we might not last through to another opening. We need to pin it all on this one, Sonia, and work together to be sure it's successful!"

"Geo, I don't want you to get hurt!"

"I don't want you to get hurt either!" Still more Noise battered the shield. "Sonia, I know you're used to ending things on your own—I know you'd rather do as much as you can by yourself while the rest of us just support you! But I'm your Brother, and I'm here for you! I'm depending on you to deliver that attack, so please, depend on me to keep you safe while you get ready!"

Time seemed to slow down as Sonia hesitated. Eventually, she gave a single nod, and raised her guitar. "…Okay. I trust you, Geo! We'll finish this leaning on each other!"

Geo grinned. "You got it, Sonia! I promise: not a single attack will get through!"

He rose into the air as Sonia started to play. The Dragon growled, muttering, "Oh, what do we have here? Are you spoiled children ready to meet your end?"

"Mega," Geo said, "we probably won't have time to react. I know Black Ace's analysis is complete, but I'll need you to keep that data flowing."

"Way ahead of you, kid!" Mega said. "Don't worry about a thing!"

The Dragon roared. Missiles flew out, but Geo shot them all down in the blink of an eye. Spears fell towards him, but he teleported aside and up, slicing them apart, before immediately getting above Sonia to slice apart spears that had taken aim at her. His visor flashed—missiles were closing in from all around. He shot down most of them, teleported down to kick a few more out of the way, and simultaneously threw his sword to skewer the last one so that it clattered uselessly against the floor. A new sword was in his hand instantly.

Sonia just kept playing, trying not to worry about Geo as he continued to deflect attacks. Her speakers glowed as they transmitted her music, though to her surprise, it seemed a good deal louder than she had expected.

"Hope you don't mind, dear," Lyra said. "I'm doing a little mixing while you play, increasing the energy output so that we can reach our goal a bit more swiftly. Waiting around didn't seem the most productive option given the circumstances."

Sonia chuckled. "Thanks, Lyra. With everyone helping out like this, I'm sure we'll pull through!"

She continued to play, and then, somewhat suddenly, recognized exactly what song she was playing. Something had clicked, she realized, and her focus grew sharper as a second wind empowered her. It had taken a long time, taken much struggle, but she finally knew the words to this song.

"Here it is," she said. "Debuting now… _Shooting Star_!"

The Crimson Dragon roared. As Geo cut his way through a barrage of missiles, Sonia began to sing.

" _I don't know whether it_

 _Might've been chance or fate_

 _That we met that day_

 _And our bond was born_

 _I never thought that_

 _I would be a part of this fight"_

Still more missiles came. Geo dashed through the air, firing a wide spray of pellets from his buster to shoot them down. The Dragon's claws came after him, but he swung his sword expertly, parrying each swipe as he continued to deal with the missiles. A surprise jab forced him to ascend—the claws pressed their advantage, but Geo unleashed a powerful blast that stopped them both cold, before holding both palms out below him. Dozens, if not hundreds of tiny black holes opened, sucking up not only the claws but every last missile that was mid-flight. One additional rocket formed directly behind him. He sliced it apart with a flex of his wing, not even turning to look at it.

" _But now I look around_

 _And see I'm not alone_

 _All the ones I love_

 _They give me strength_

 _Our bonds form_

 _A brilliant constellation_

 _That lights the night"_

Next came the spears. The Dragon wasn't even trying to hit Geo now, instead opting to attack Sonia from multiple angles and ranges in an attempt to outmaneuver Geo. He dashed forward, cutting through the nearest set of spears, and then teleported in front of Sonia just in time to obliterate a few more. Jumping behind her, he blocked a small cluster on his shield before unleashing a trio of fireballs at the projectiles, and then executed a far-reaching slash that felled at least a dozen incoming spears at once. Geo teleported rapidly, using the same type of swing again and again to carve up the advancing wall of attacks on every side. The Dragon increased the ferocity of its attack, so Geo teleported faster, barely visible as he moved from one spot to another to another.

" _We are the shooting stars_

 _Who light the way ahead_

 _We have all we need_

 _To defend our home_

 _From whatever comes"_

The core flashed as the hail of spears suddenly stopped. Immediately in front of it, Geo put up a barrier just as pinpoints of Noise gushed forth, the protective light lasting mere seconds before he had to replace it. He rapidly chained barrier cards, just barely having long enough each time to hold the barrage at bay. However, he then noticed the Dragon's many heads rearing back.

" _Our trust, our love,_

 _They're all the strength_

 _We need"_

Dropping a large chunk of stone in front of the core to be safe, Geo teleported to the middle of the platform as the Dragon's Crimson breath washed over it. With little time to think, Geo stretched his arms out and began to spin, wind whipping around him to form into a great tornado colored green by the hundreds of leaves that filled it; the Crimson slammed into this cyclone, and slowly, it was all swept up by the powerful air currents, turning the funnel from green to red.

" _We'll turn_

 _Each others' pain_

 _Into hope"_

The tornado flew upward and dissipated. Geo was breathing heavily, and took a glance back at Sonia: she was still playing, massive clouds of Noise now enshrouding her speakers. The Crimson Dragon snorted furiously. Geo steeled himself as it snapped forward, but then his eyes shot wide as he saw the Dragon do something he had yet to see it do. The thirty two heads it had amassed were now being launched forward, one-by-one in rapid succession, all weaving in very different paths as they bore down on him and Sonia. Geo abandoned all attempts at thought and simply acted.

" _I'm not afraid of anything_

 _We'll keep lighting up the sky_

 _For all to see"_

A yellowish glow cloaked Geo. Oversized shots poured from his buster at breakneck speeds—he could track the heads well enough, but it took far too many shots to destroy each one. One hit him directly, going up in an explosion of Noise, but he simply ignored the pain and dove, skewering a head that had nearly slipped past him. Geo hurled bladed wheels at the heads, breaking some and only diverting others. He buried his sword in one, raising his hand to call down a brief shower of meteors, while firing a stream of rockets from his buster, leaving only a handful of heads remaining. Summoning another blade, he slashed through as many as he could, but one got around him; he threw himself backwards, taking the detonation himself, and landed on the platform with a crash. His body sprang back up, and before he even had time to process it, he was flying towards the space right above Sonia. He thrust as one final head came into view, catching it just before it made contact with Sonia and carrying it far enough away that its explosion didn't reach her.

" _Because I'll always know_

 _No matter what_

 _You'll all be with me"_

As she played the penultimate note, each speaker fired a beam containing untold quantities of Noise, compressed into a precise attack that ripped away the shell protecting the core. Sonia then pointed her guitar forward, and with one final note, she fired an even deadlier beam, converging with the others as they all mercilessly attacked the core. The energy generated began to expand, but only for a moment: a distortion slowly enveloped the core, bending and twisting into something like a black hole as Geo descended into view. He and Sonia nodded to each other. Drawing his sword, Geo shot forward, cutting past his encapsulated target faster than Sonia could see. A gash appeared through the black hole. And then all the energy stored within the distortion erupted in one brilliant display, leaving behind a badly damaged core surrounded by disconnected clusters of Noise.

"No…" came King's voice, though from where no one was sure. "No…no! I cannot fail…Noise CANNOT be beaten!"

Geo charged his buster. Sonia ran forward.

"I'm…not…done! I wield the power…of Meteor G! I will kill EVERYONE!"

Just as Sonia leapt at the core, Geo took aim.

"This can't be…!"

A punch and an energy blast struck the core at the exact same time. Caught between such powerful forces, it finally gave out, crumbling into dust. A powerful shockwave rippled out from it as it went. And then, with its core gone, the Meteor Server collapsed.

* * *

Notes:

-I do worry that Blitzar's exposition feels a little deus ex machina, but he is a part of something I've been alluding to for a while. The connection between the final boss cores was something I thought of when planning out the series that seemed like a good myth arc to tie all the stories together, but the places where I could reference it naturally were limited, and even calling attention to the likely existence of a Meteor Server Admin can only help so much. Blitzar was a fairly recent addition to this plan, to help shift our goals as well as provide more explanation for Kelvin's time in the meteor. Of course, there's still a lot left unsaid, but that part of the plan can wait for now.

-"NO IDEALISM IN MY EVIL SERVER!"

-I'm not kidding when I say I started envisioning this battle the day I started this story. The "rock and roll" line seemed the perfect way to kick off the confrontation, and Geo defending Sonia as she charged her final attack was the best way to make sure Geo's contributions mattered—plus, while she always talks about bonds, Sonia does typically try to do things herself, where a true relationship needs back and forth. That sort of became a theme in this story, and this helps to cement that. And, you know, setting it to a slightly-modified rendition of Shooting Star just seemed really, really cool. The lines may seem oddly uneven, but that's how they were arranged in-game so I figured I should stick with it.

-Sonia's speech to the sixteen heads sums up the direction her character had throughout the series. It's easy to be idealistic when you're young, when you're naïve, but as you grow up and are faced with the reality around you, many people are irrevocably discouraged by it. I think someone who's able to endure that, someone who understands the bad in the world but still strongly believes in the good, is all the more awe-inspiring. King came to represent the viewpoint that such discouragement is inevitable, so I think their final clash ended up carrying due weight.

-Next chapter will wrap up Red Joker! Gosh, it's already longer than the first two combined…well, with luck chapter 39 won't take long; I'm eager to finally bring this part of the series to a close, as well as talk a little about what I'll be doing next.


	39. Chapter 39

Heartless set to work the instant she saw Meteor G burst, fingers blazing across the keys as she accessed the satellite network and began downloading the Noise. The base shook a bit as it was battered, but she wasn't worried, knowing that the shields were more than capable of handling the disturbance.

"S-Someone, come in! We have a problem!"

The rocket, however, was not.

"Magnes, what's happening?" Boreal asked.

"The Noise eddies are too strong!" the Wizard replied. "We're being carried away—we're out of control! I…I-I don't know if the Noise Wave will reach us here!"

Heartless froze for half a second. Then she typed twice as fast.

"No!" Boreal said. "Magnes, you've got to try to get back on course!"

"I'm doing everything I can, but it's not responding!"

"Darn…can Solo go through the wave to get them?"

"The opening's already gone, Chief!"

"Oh no…what happened to them?!"

The viewscreen flicked on, displaying the Wave Road inside the partially-formed Noise Network. Lying on the center platform, bruised and exhausted but still conscious, were Sonia and Geo. Heartless paused briefly, and then tapped the intercom before getting back to work.

"I've got them," Heartless said. "Sonia and Geo, at least. They're safe in the satellites, so you just focus on evacuating that rocket—I'll ask them about Kelvin myself."

Boreal stopped to catch his breath. "Alright…good. Thank you, Heartless. We'll leave that to you."

As Boreal began to give instructions to Magnes, Heartless switched to a different channel, watching Sonia and Geo as they struggled to their feet.

"And how are our little champions doing?" she asked.

They looked up, Geo asking, "Is that…Heartless?"

"Don't fret, you're perfectly safe. Since you're both wearing so much Noise it was easy to include you in my download. Once I've finished setting up the network, I'll be connecting it to AMAKEN, and you'll be able to get back to Earth that way."

Sonia gave a relieved sigh. "Thanks…I was a little worried there."

"If you don't mind me asking, where is Kelvin?"

Sonia glanced at Geo. The boy swallowed hard, saying, "He…King kicked him out of the server…he's somewhere in space right now."

Heartless frowned.

"He said he'd make it back to Earth. I know he will, somehow."

"Oh, he most certainly will. After investing so many years in this search, I'm a bit tired of waiting. I'll take the liberty of tracking him down myself."

"Huh? You will? How?"

"The orbital base, of course. Once the network is set up I'll pilot it out until I lock onto Kelvin's signal. It shouldn't take long at all."

Geo smiled at first. Then, he turned nervously to Sonia, who stared up with a blank expression.

"…So," Sonia said, "you won't be back on Earth for a while either?"

The clacking of keys answered her.

"…Alright. This isn't over until we get Geo's dad back, and that's something I know you can do. I'll be waiting to hear from you when you get back, aunt…er, no…"

Heartless's fingers slowed just a bit. Leaning towards the microphone, she quietly said, "Ava."

A bright smile crossed Sonia's face. "…Aunt Ava. Thank you."

"Don't mention it. And I'm not being coy: I have very good reasons for operating under pseudonyms, as I'm sure you can guess, and if my true name got around it'd be rather catastrophic for my business."

"Oh, okay, I understand."

"Good. I'd best be getting back to work, then. I'll inform you when the connection is secure."

"Oh, wait!" Geo said. "One last thing...were…were you able to download King as well?"

Heartless scanned over the data streaming by in front of her. "Hm, I don't see anything that resembles King's data. I think it's safe to say he didn't make it out."

Geo nodded solemnly, Sonia looking equally grim.

"Just sit tight, now. I'm nearly done."

Heartless cut the feed, smirking to herself as she mumbled, "Serves you right, you senile old bastard. I only regret my own knife didn't make it to your heart."

She hummed to herself as she continued to work. It was a simple task—mindless, really—and she found her thoughts drifting.

"…I helped her out, Rosa. That's a bonus. Normally I'd charge extra, but…let's say it's covered under your family discount."

The last file entered the network, and Heartless then initialized the connection, leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes as she waited for it to form.

"She did everything you wanted and more, little sister. I hope you can rest easy now."

* * *

Clipping the last branch, Pat stepped back to examine his work, wiping his hands on his apron and absent-mindedly adjusting his purple bandana.

"Good job, kid," Wolfe said from nearby. "Why don't you take care of that one next?"

"Oh, yes sir!"

Pat glanced across the school roof at Geo: his boyfriend was wearing a new short-sleeved jacket, his usual shade of red with a high collar and white star-shaped designs on the shoulders, with a dark blue shirt beneath, black pants, and red and black gloves over his hands. Geo just smiled at him, and Pat chuckled as he got back to work.

"So," Wolf said, "Corvus is finally dead. Never thought I'd get to say that."

"He was rotten to the end," Mega said. "Nothing we coulda said to get through his thick skull."

Wolf grunted. "…Kind of a shame, I suppose. Least I can finally put it behind me."

"Right. Now you get to go back to your cushy retirement!"

"Hey, I never said I was retired! Quit running your mouth!"

Geo glanced to the side. Jack stood on one corner of the roof, happily talking to Tia on a holographic screen. He wore light gray pants and an orange shirt, as well as a black coat that was shorter than his old one, with green lines decorating the front, arms, and shoulder pads.

"And before you ask, my history grade has gone way up!" Jack said. "I'm already half-done with the project due at the end of the month! It's a piece of cake now!"

Tia chuckled, smiling at her brother. "I'm glad to hear it, Jack. I'm so proud of you!"

Jack grinned, then took on a more wistful expression. "It still feels a little weird without you here, Sis. Still no chance of parole?"

"I already told you, I'm not eligible. But they've already reduced my sentence considerably, and will allow me to reapply for student teaching immediately—I'm not going to complain."

"Yeah, I guess…"

"Once I'm out, we'll take a vacation somewhere. Won't that be nice?"

"Heh, yeah! Can't wait!"

The elevator doors suddenly opened. First out was Amy, wearing her yellow sundress, followed by Bud, who wore a set of his usual style of coveralls that was a dark shade of orange. Last out was a less-than-thrilled Shepar.

"Bud, you know better!" the teacher scolded.

"S-Sorry Mr. Shepar, won't happen again!" Bud said.

"That's exactly what you said last time!"

Amy stepped forward, saying, "Um, it was actually my fault this time, Mr. Shepar. Please don't take it out on Bud!"

Libra materialized behind Shepar, saying, "Regardless of whose idea, you were both involved! It's only fair you take equal share in the blame!"

In a puff of flame, Taurus appeared. "Mrrrgh, come on, Libra! Cut us some slack! You sure adjusted to your new authority awful quick!"

"Yeah," Yeti said as he formed, "and Amy doesn't even go here! There's nothing you can do!"

"Yeti," Amy said, "don't taunt him…"

Geo chuckled to himself. Jack walked over to him, saying, "What, again? Sometimes he just doesn't learn."

"Well, it's kind of nice to know Bud will always be Bud," Geo said.

"Yeah, in a way."

Geo glanced skyward, his enthusiasm rapidly waning. Jack rubbed his neck as he debated asking.

"…Uh," he finally said, "you okay, Geo? I mean, you're probably still worried, I get that, I just, uh…"

Geo shook his head. "Not worried. I know it'll work out. Just…wishing it would work faster, I guess."

"Oh…yeah."

"But," Geo said with a shrug, "there's nothing I can do about that. I should keep my eyes forward."

Pat knelt over a bed of flowers, gently watering them as he whistled to himself. Geo lit up again.

"Gotta say," Jack muttered, "if I were you, I woulda killed that FM-ian who double-crossed him."

"…Have to admit…there's a part of me that wants to. But Gemini can't hurt anyone, sealed up the way he is. It's enough for Pat and Rey, so it's enough for me."

Jack started to say speak, but he trailed off, staring up at something. Geo turned to see what it was, and jumped in surprise. A ball of blue light was shooting through the sky, plummeting past the clouds and appearing to arc directly towards Vista Point.

"G…Geo…" Jack said. "Do you think…?"

He turned to see Geo grinning.

"Mega!" he shouted. "Come on!"

The AM-ian now noticed the light as well, and eagerly returned to Geo's Hunter. Pausing to Wave Change, they leapt onto the Wave Road and charged off at top speed, laughing every step of the way.

* * *

"…so I don't think it's anything to be especially concerned about."

Copper nodded along. Two screens floated in front of him: one showing Alohaha, and the other displaying Whazzap. Strong occupied much of the former screen, though Claude and Kidd were constantly poking around behind him, while the latter showed the Shaman and Condor against the backdrop of a bustling crowd. If Copper squinted, he could see Solo standing off to the edge of that crowd, wearing a Whazzap poncho and, to his surprise, smiling a little. The detective couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.

"We're doing quite well over here, too," the Shaman said. "Words cannot express how grateful we are for the assistance WAZA has provided us! I see a new age of prosperity dawning for the people of Whazzap!"

"Glad to hear it," Copper said. "Well, if there's nothing to report, I'll be taking my leave. We'll check in again soon."

The Shaman bowed, and his screen shut off. Claude shoved in front of Strong, saying, "Hey, hey, Mr. Copper! I wanted to ask about that Noise Network! Do you think we could—"

"No."

"Aw, you don't even know what I was going to say!"

"You were going to ask if you and Kidd could test the third-generation Noise Control Programs, right?"

"Ack!"

From off-screen, Kidd chuckled, saying, "I suspected that would be his answer…"

Strong gently guided the young boy aside, and then faced Copper. "If you don't mind me asking, Detective, how are repairs to WAZA HQ coming?"

"We've demolished the old building," Copper said. "Construction should start any day now, but at that altitude the construction crew needs to be very careful about the weather."

"Ah, I see. Well, we shall continue to safeguard your data until the new computer is installed. Take care."

His screen vanished as well, and Copper paused to stretch. Plesio nudged his leg, saying, "Detective…the doctors want you."

"Oh, thanks!" Copper said, patting Plesio's head. "Let's go see them, then!"

It was a short walk to the lab, where they found Vega and Goodall hard at work on opposite consoles. Goodall noticed them first, saying, "Ah, Detective, there you are! We need some more parts for an experiment we want to run—be a dear and go get them for us!"

"Parts? I'd hardly know what I was looking for. Why don't you send Hyde?"

Hyde poked his head out from behind a piece of machinery. "Regrettably, dear Detective, I am otherwise occupied at the moment. Try it now, Lady Vega!"

The equipment hummed to life. Vega turned in her seat, saying, "Excellent work! Thank you, Hyde, this should speed up the process immensely!"

Hyde chuckled. "Heh, well, I did have some help from my partner."

"Some?" Phantom said. "You'd be completely lost without me!"

Hyde just rolled his eyes and got back to work. Copper said, "Alright, guess it's up to me after all."

His Hunter chimed as it received a mail. Goodall said, "That list has everything we need. For now, at least. Hop to it!"

Copper grumbled under his breath as he made his way out of the lab. On his way down to the lobby, he encountered Dubius and Cygnus in a seating area, and slowed down as he approached them.

"Really, Tom, you must cease being so modest!" Cygnus said. "The work is brilliant! To not take it to the conference would be a disservice to your field!"

"I-I don't know," Dubius said. "It definitely has potential, but I worry it's not quite done yet."

"So what? You've begun it! Share what you've learned, and perhaps someone there will show you what direction to head next."

"Maybe…"

Cygnus turned aside and squawked, then noticing Copper. "Oh, Detective. Can we help you with something?"

"Just passing by," Copper said. "Say, is the Chief still busy?"

"I think so," Dubius said. "Did you want to talk to him?"

"It can wait. After all, he's been waiting years to have this conversation."

The nearby elevator opened up, and out stepped Boreal with a big smile. Spotting his colleagues, he said, "Oh, hey there! How's everyone doing?"

"Aaron!" Dubius said. "Did he leave already?"

"Yeah, he wanted to get back home. Can't say that I blame him!"

"Chief," Copper said, "if you're done, our newest intern wanted to chat with you about something."

"Oh? Where is he?"

"This way."

Boreal nodded to Dubius as he followed Copper downstairs, the two of them eventually coming to another lab at the rear of the facility. Inside, Acid and Magnes floated around checking equipment, while Zack stood at the center in a lab coat, checking things off a holographic screen as they went.

"How's it going, Zack?" Boreal asked.

Spinning, the boy said, "Oh, Mr. Boreal! I mean, uh, Chief! Everything's running smoothly!"

"Great to hear. Detective Copper said you wanted to see me?"

"Oh, yes, um, well actually Magnes wanted to see you! Right, Magnes?"

The Wizard came closer, saying, "Yup! Chief, I was organizing some files and came across plans for an elementary school lecture program. I was wondering…if it's alright, could I help out with that? It'd be great to visit schools and get to work with kids again! I promise to do a good job!"

Boreal nodded. "I can't make anything official just yet, but I'll see what I can do. I think you're a perfect fit!"

Magnes turned excitedly to Zack. Boreal then glanced over at Acid, who was still hard at work.

"…Acid? How are you doing?"

Acid faced him. "All systems normal."

"That's not really what I mean."

"…I am…alright. I still miss Ace, but I will not allow it to compromise my work."

"Acid, you don't have to stay so fixated on your work."

"I desire to. You see, I have a certain feeling that if Ace were here, he would wish to continue our work as well; he always stayed focused regardless of what was bothering him, and managed to excel despite the matters that weighed on him. I suppose…I wish to do the same, in memory of him."

"…I see," Boreal said. "Well, so long as you don't overdo it."

"You have my word."

Copper's Hunter chimed. "Ah, I should probably get going. I have to run an errand for the doctors. See you later."

As he left, Zack turned back to Boreal and asked, "Hey, is Geo still here?"

"You just missed him."

"Ah, okay. I'll catch up with him later! He must be on his way back home, finally."

* * *

Hope turned at the sound of the door opening. Geo came running in, looking happier than she'd seen him in quite a while, saying, "Mom! We're home!"

Mega floated in behind him, looking just as ecstatic. Pausing to wipe her hands, Hope came towards the entryway, saying, "Geo, Mega! What's got you two in such a good mood?"

Hope looked up as someone else came through the doorway. She blinked, unwilling to believe her eyes at first, but he didn't go anywhere. Kelvin stood before her, grinning broadly, and for a moment Hope thought her heart had stopped.

"Kel...vin…?"

He took a small step forward. "I'm home, Hope. Sorry it took so long…you wouldn't believe the traffic!"

Hope reached out tentatively, brushing Kelvin's shoulder. He was real. Tears came to her eyes as she finally realized that, and she threw herself forward to wrap her arms around Kelvin.

"Kelvin! Y-You're really here! I…I…"

He held her tightly, starting to cry a little himself. "I'm really sorry, Hope. Thank you for believing in me."

Geo joined in the hug as well. Mega hovered there a moment, until Kelvin suddenly reached out and pulled him in by the neck. The four of them cried and laughed together, overwhelmed with joy that finally, after so long, the Stelar family was truly complete.

* * *

Sonia took a moment to straighten her dress—it was primarily a light shade of blue with many white frills, paired with white boots and a wide, blue and white hat with a large bow on top. Luna walked along next to her, taking a call on her Hunter, dressed in a bluish-black suit with a skirt, black tights and shoes, a plain white dress shirt beneath the jacket, and a long red necktie.

"Just get that done, and I'll see where you're at on Monday. Good-bye!" Luna sighed as she hung up, and then turned to Sonia. "Sorry."

Sonia shook her head. "I don't mind! I'm glad to know the Prez is taking time out of her busy schedule to spend with me, hehe!"

"Of course! As if I would pass up an opportunity to be with you over something so silly."

Sonia lightly bumped Luna with her shoulder. Luna bumped her back, making Sonia giggle.

"So," Luna said, "did you get to the studio? Give them your answer?"

"I did," Sonia said. "It…didn't go over great. They're happy I want to continue the drama, but when I asked for a hiatus they all went white. Luckily, Belle took the chance to propose another project she's had in the works, and with Ice there for hype she was able to get them on-board easily enough. I'm going to have the time we need."

"Good. I'm already making arrangements to take off as well."

"Only if you—"

"I'm recovering fine! Sure, I'm not completely better yet, but we have some time to prepare still and I'm certain it will be more than enough."

"Rest assured," Ophiuca said, "I won't allow her to go unless I am completely sure of her rehabilitation!"

"You do have faith in me, don't you?" Luna asked as she glanced sideways at Sonia.

Leaning in, Sonia kissed her. "Of course. It'll be great to have you with me."

Luna averted her eyes, blushing slightly. "R-Right. Well, considering this last fiasco didn't go nearly as bad, obviously sending people along with you works, so it's only natural I see to it we continue the trend! And who better to accompany you than me?"

She turned even redder as Sonia clung to her arm. "No one at all."

After a few more steps, Luna stopped. Sonia looked up then, realizing they had arrived.

"…Do you mind if I go alone first?" Sonia asked.

"No, go ahead."

With some reluctance, Sonia let go of Luna and walked forward, nodding to the Satella Officers on-site as she undid the gate. The graves were lined up in neat rows, and at the very center of the plot was a tall slab of stone with more than a hundred names carved into it; Sonia stopped before the plaque at its foot that read "KILLED IN ACTION". She slowly scanned up until she found Ace's name.

"…Hey, Ace," she began. "We took care of Dealer, and Meteor G. King's gone, Earth is safe, and with the data from the Meteor Server we're making some great leaps in dealing with Noise. I know you're wondering, but don't worry: Jack and Tia are safe. Since Jack's still a minor he was able to get off with just community service, but…Tia's going to need to spend a little time in prison. But you know those two. A setback like this will never be enough to stop them!"

She managed a short chuckle, then fell silent for a while.

"They rebuilt Acid. He misses you. We all miss you, you know. I keep thinking, wondering if there was some other way, but…I'm not sure if there was. And I'm still not exactly sure how I feel about that. Even at the end, you're still showing me that reality's more gray than I want it to be…but, I'm not going to hold that against you anymore. I'm sorry that I did. From now on, I'm going to face what's in front of me without looking away, and try to be more decisive in situations where there aren't any answers I really like. Thank you for showing me that was something I needed to do."

Sonia removed her hat, looking down to fidget with it for a few moments.

"…The truth is, things aren't entirely over. Corvus and Virgo made me realize something terrible is happening on Planet FM, and after what Blitzar said, I'm even more worried. We've tried contacting Cepheus, but we're still having trouble getting through…so, we're going to go to Planet FM and see for ourselves what's happening. Me, Lyra, Geo, Mega, Solo, Laplace, Bud, Taurus, Luna, and Ophiuca. It'll be awhile before we can leave, though: it's so far away that a material craft isn't a practical option, so everyone at AMAKEN is looking into possibly using Noise Waves to get us there. Aunt—er, Heartless's data showed that they're capable of bending space in unusual ways, so we can probably cross light years in a fraction of the time. But they're still in the process of working that out, along with modifications to our Hunters so we don't pollute Planet FM with Noise while we're there. I know, if you were still here, you'd want to go with us. You'd jump at the opportunity to help out."

She breathed deeply.

"And…Heartless still hasn't come back. If I'm being honest, I was never really sure she would. But I couldn't be selfish and ask her to stay, not when Geo's dad was on the line, so I let her go. I wish I could learn more about my family…but, I already know a lot more than I did. If that's all I get, then I'll be content with that. Ah, sorry, you probably have no idea what I'm talking about, huh? Haha…"

Sonia felt a raindrop. Looking up, she quickly put her hat back in place.

"Guess I should move along. Thanks for everything, Ace. I hope you're at peace now."

She made her way back towards the gate, moving a little more quickly out of fear of the rain.

"Lyra," she said. "Do you know anything about this 'Scorpio' they mentioned?"

"I do," Lyra said. "If he's leading some sort of counter-movement, then that's very bad news."

"Hm. And then there's Blitzar's 'colleague'…I have to wonder: do you think there's any chance they're connected?"

"It's impossible to say for sure, given how little we know about these XM-ians. I suppose we'll just have to be prepared for anything."

"I hope Cepheus will be able to hold out until we can get there. With luck, we'll be able to talk things down before things get too bad."

"I doubt Scorpio will listen…but, I've seen you pull off many small miracles since coming here. You have my full support, Sonia. And, thank you for helping my planet."

"Heh, of course! It's about time I returned the favor!"

The rain began to grow stronger just as Sonia made it through the gate, running over to Luna and jumping beneath the umbrella she had opened up.

"So, um," Sonia said, "this time I _did_ forget my own umbrella on purpose. Are you mad?"

Luna smiled, murmuring, "We'll discuss it later…"

"Hehehe! So, shall we?"

"Um, Sonia..."

Trailing off, Luna looked past Sonia, nodding slightly. Curious, Sonia turned around, and spotted someone else standing nearby, wrapped in a black coat and hiding under their own umbrella. Slowly, they lifted the umbrella to reveal their face. Sonia gasped.

"…She came back…" she said. A smile crossed her face. "…Hey, Luna? Do you mind waiting a little longer? I want to introduce you to my Aunt Ava."

 **THE END**

* * *

Notes:

-Aaaaaahhhh it's done! At a whopping 193k, I've finally finished it! Thank God, there were times I wasn't so sure I was gonna make it! I was gonna pull my hair out if it ended up taking longer than two years past posting the first chapter…

-"Ava" means "voice/sound" in Persian, which seemed like a good fit for the theming of the Strumm family.

-I'd been kicking around the idea of Sonia wearing the outfit from that one artwork of the main cast slightly older for some time—over three years have passed in-universe since this story began, so I thought the reference might be a worthwhile way of signifying that the characters have indeed grown. I was largely against it until just as I was writing this chapter, at which point I decided, no, showing the characters in new outfits would be a great way to make it feel like they've completed a chapter in their lives, like they've developed a significant amount and should look different to reflect that. I, ah, didn't go all-in on that, obviously: Pat, Zack, and Bud's changes are very minor, and Amy's outfit is one I've already shown her in. Solo getting a poncho was actually a separate plan that happened to coincide with this. But we do have that outfit for Sonia, and more recently we got a new outfit for an older Geo, so I had to use that! I didn't want to leave Luna out, so her outfit is more just an evolution of her original one, and Jack…well, I thought he most needed a new look because of his heel-face turn, and as I was looking at the SF4 artwork, I realized Kazuma's clothes fit surprisingly well with Jack Corvus's color scheme. It's not like I was going to do anything else with Kazuma, you know?

-I maintain that Geo's reunion with Mega and Kelvin should've occurred at Vista Point. As for the scene here that leads up to Kelvin's return, I felt setting it there wasn't really the best fit for a few reasons, but I still wanted that to be where they reunited. Also yay, Hope gets a second cameo! …I do regret not doing more with her.

-Alright. So. A problem I have is that when I get into a story, I get into a mindset where I want to "franchise" it, and I end up thinking of way too many sequel ideas. While Star Force ended at 3, I had a handful of concepts for stories to continue Shooting Star Sonia past this point. However, Red Joker was so ambitious that I ended up burning myself out a bit, and, well, a couple of those other ideas were even more ambitious. (Besides, like I said before, this is pretty much where Sonia's arc ends.) While I unfortunately think it best to cancel those particular ideas, I can't just leave you all hanging after planting hints towards the core plotline, so I'll be doing one more story to give a proper resolution to that.

-As is likely obvious by now, I want to adapt Sirius. The SF1 post-game didn't really have anything to adapt, and SF2's post-game, while interesting, felt too tangential and I wasn't sure it would really amount to much. But visiting Planet FM after all this time is something I absolutely want to take a stab at! Problem is, it's also a little tangential; I wouldn't really be able to integrate it into Red Joker's plot, and tacking the extra arc onto the end would've just felt odd. So instead, I'll be doing a separate story set on Planet FM where Sirius is a major threat, along with several liberties in the adaptation that I think you'll enjoy. This won't be the length of a full game adaptation (I'm thinking around 10 chapters?), plus it's still based on material from SF3, so I wanted to pick a title that reflected that. Keep your eyes peeled for Shooting Star Sonia 3.5: Event Horizon.

-When? Um…I was hoping to start it this December, for the Star Force anniversary, but with how close that is now I'm not liking the idea as much. I will be posting a new Mega Man story in December! But Event Horizon probably won't be out until sometime next year. Again, this one's going to be relatively short, so a little wait to extend its lifespan might not be so bad!

-Thank you all for bearing with me. I was hopeful after the steady schedule I was able to hold with Tribe, but Red Joker's production ended up being quite rocky. While there's certainly room for improvement, I sincerely hope you still enjoyed Red Joker, and thank you all for the staggering number of hits it's pulled in! I hope to see you again for Event Horizon!


End file.
